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 Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 7:40 pm
 Jora'mana was not the kind of cub to go playing. It was beneath him. He'd much rather be lounging about with the other males, imitating their poise and regal bearing. Of course, he couldn't do it quite right. He had no banu to lord over, you see. He was decent at mimicking the look, but any time a female came near he felt the illusion breaking.
But he was only a cub. No one imagined he'd have anything to do with banu gathering until he was much older. And lately he'd noticed his brothers growing more agile. While he lazed about with the elders, they'd been wrestling, running...learning to fight, and things that would help them to catch their banu. And Jora couldn't fall behind. He already knew more about keeping banu he was sure. He'd spoken to several, heard what they liked and what made them feel at home. He'd tried not to think about catching them. The honest truth was he was a bit of a runt.
And so he'd slipped off to 'play' by himself. He would catch up, he was sure. He'd crept to the top of a high ridge, one of the dry craggy places still in the pride's lands, but not so far from the rogue lands. There he played at fighting, boxing with his shadow, and charging at large stones to grow stronger. One such rock started to get loose. He grinned grimly. Surely he could make it fall. Once he did, that would mean he'd done enough for the day, he decided.
With a tiny squeak of a roar he charged at the stone, throwing his whole weight into it. There was the sound of crumbling dirt, and slowly, so slowly, the small boulder toppled from it's precarious perch. He scrambled to peer over the edge of the ridge, wanting to see it smash on the ground below...
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 7:52 pm
 Wandering had become a loathsome pastime for Kimbea. If she wasn't digging her claws into something, she had no idea what to do with herself, and this moment was one of them.
This specific outing had brought her further than she'd gone before. She knew of mulitple prides that existed in the world, but luck had always chosen to keep her well out of the range of them.
Some luck... dumb luck, more like it.
If things kept at this boring rate, she'd have to throw herself into fighting every chance she'd get.
She wasn't aware of the cub that hovered a few feet above where she was. And with the unawareness, when the smaller rocks came tumbling against her feet, she took the time to tilt her head up and see the little ball of blue fur only a moment too late.
Opening her mouth to speak, her jaw merely dropped when, instead of conversation, she found herself taking a few steps out of the way as a large rock came tumbling down, looking at the ground where it would hit.
But luck would not side with her today, and the rock pitched on a jutted out slab of rock and hurled straight at her head, knocking the female into a swirl of fog until she blacked out.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 8:15 pm
Oh god. Oh. Oh god! He'd killed someone! Suffice to say Jora'mana was NOT happy to see someone in the way of his rock. He'd thought for sure they'd move, and they did, but no! The rock was seeking them out and BLAM! He winced, ears folding, at the sound of the stone cracking the poor thing on the head. He clung to the ledge, and peeked open his eyes. The thing wasn't moving... Oh god.
Concern overcame fear and eventually he slid down the cliff to flop beside the female. Female she was, for even with her pained expression he could tell her features were...delicate. She wasn't a lion...maybe a leopard? He'd never sen one before. There was a lump on her head to match the rock...He reached out and patted her face. Nothing. He really was scared he'd killed her.
Thankfully a few moments of deep breathing helped him to notice she too was breathing. Not dead then! Fantastic! He started to slink off back home, thinking to leave her to wake up (and not holler at him) when a thought struck him. He'd heard pads tell about raids. About bringing banu back unconscious. He wasn't old enough to be a proper pad. He knew that. But...he'd caught a female. Or would, if he could just get her home.
He eyed her limp form...she really was pretty. In an older kind of way. He didn't believe that nonsense about cooties at least. He tried to tug on her paw. She barely moved. This would be some work...
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 8:32 pm
Movement.
Even when she wasn't aware of anything, that was the one thing she could be sure of.
Her cheek... something touched it?
And her paw... a tug?
She put her effort into moving, but was met with nothingness.
She could feel herself being moved, at least, she should know what being moved felt like.
But her body refused to respond, and her eyes wouldn't open.
She was fading back out....
Time was passing so quickly...
Rustling.
Now she felt it, the strength in her limbs and the weight of the breath in her chest.
She wasn't outside, that much she could tell even through the darkness, but the pain in her head kept her nearly cemented to the floor.
Straining, she forced her eyes as wide as she could, a mere blurred line becoming the vision she needed as her heart hammered in her chest.
Where was she...?
Should she attempt to pull herself up?
A paw clenched, but the effort for anything more was out of her reach for the moment.
She listened...
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 8:44 pm
It was exhausting getting the leopardess home. Of course he couldn't really do it alone, and he'd got help from several of the older males. He'd also made it abundantly clear that he'd caught her on purpose, waited to trap her with his rock slide. It was a lie, but he felt himself bursting with pride at the looks the older males had given him. He! A mere youth! Almost a juvenile, but nothing like the adols that usually went out to prove themselves, had caught a full grown leopardess!
It was entirely possible they were just humoring him, but an unconscious female was still an asset. She'd been safely stashed, and the blue cub had refused to leave the cave when she'd been settled. Inside he was still afraid he had killed her...she hadn't woken at all when they'd been dragging her. If he'd killed her...he'd just feel awful.
He swished he tail and stared through the gloom. Had...had her paw moved? "Are you alright miss?" He cleared his throat and tried to deepen his voice. "Uhm, I mean. Female. Are you well?" He didn't know how to address her...she wasn't a rogue now, but wasn't a banu...usually he'd call other banus 'banu' something. Should he do that? She probably wouldn't know what the word meant.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 8:55 pm
Hearing the cub's voice had forced her eyes open fully, though the blurred vision had yet to clear. She pulled her paw in and tucked it lightly under her jaw, blinking to try and properly look at the one who addressed her as she spoke.
"Kimbea.... not 'female', if you don't.... mind..."
She winced at the throbbing in her head, but she forced herself to lift it, watching as her little companion came into better view. Her features hid it well, but she was thoroughly caught off-guard.
Had this guy been the one to drag her back?
She carefully glanced around, not turning her head too fast as she sought out some other form of life besides the two of them.
Lacking success, her attention trained to the small male, a brow raising with a slight wince.
"Where the heck am I?"
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 5:30 am
"Kimbea then...Uhm, I'm Jora'mana." He stood and bowed, a perfect little regal thing he was. A tiny war was going on in his head. She was a female, and thus he outranked her, but she was an adult, and normally he'd have to listen to her. He had to listen to the other pads' banus when they shooed him, for example. But she wasn't a banu, she was an outsider. He...well to put it neatly, he wasn't entirely sure what to do next. The other males made it sound so easy, clonking a female, dragging her home, and telling her how life would be. But they were big and could back their words up...he was small.
He'd better have nice words then.
"Uhm, this is a den. My den. As of today. We are in my pride, the Ukuucha'Wafalme. It is a good pride, who takes care of all its members...both male and female. Life here is good, and easy. The females hunt, the males protect them..." Now came the hard part. "And...the females obey the males. Normally it is a rite of passage for nearly-grown males to leave the pride and come back with at least one female. Most do it through persuasion, though some can be rough...Is your head alright?" He'd caught her wincing.
"...It was by pure accident that you happened to be caught, and brought here, some will likely say. But you were on our land. And by right of capture, you're mine now." He couldn't help but puff up a bit at that. He was proud, thinking he'd gotten himself such a prize already. Hopefully she wouldn't just blow him off and run. She wouldn't escape, he knew. But he wanted her not to want to escape. "I know I'm small. But I'll be nice when I get big. I'll be very good to you. And because I'm so young, you won't have to do much for me for a while. My family still feeds me, so you won't need to hunt. For a while, at least, it would be like...vacation for you. A free place to stay, no one will bother you, and you'd only need to hunt for yourself...." He figured that was what would happen at least. The offer sounded good to his ears.
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 8:16 am
Kimbea listened, ears and eyes trained on the little cub as he spoke of where she was, only to stifle a laugh when he was finished.
"...You're kidding, right?"
The sound that escaped her throat an easy mix between a laugh and a snort, and she pushed herself to her feet as fast as she could.
A little too fast, perhaps, for in the next second she was back on the ground, rubbing the bump on her head.
Much more slowly, she got to her feet, pointed towards the entrance of the den, "Maybe there's a grown-up around here who can be a little more truthful."
Her tone was flat and unamused, and after a few steps she'd stopped.
Cursed under her breath, but stopped nonetheless, considering what he'd asked and looking back at him.
"...My head's fine, I'll live...."
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 8:45 am
The cub frowned. "No, I'm not joking. Why would I joke about something as important as your future? W-wait, I'm telling the truth! Don't go! They...they'll all laugh at me!" The cub was plainly distressed as she got up to go, and he scampered after her. He took her hesitant moment to dash around and get between her and the exit.
"I'm glad your head's fine, please don't be angry with me. I was playing," Ugh that sounded so immature. "I mean practicing, and I accidentally knocked it off the ledge. I did not know anyone was below or I wouldn't have shoved it. But I did and now you are here..."
Maybe he could be intimidating? He puffed himself up and tried to hiss at her. It came out more like a whine. Ugh why did he have to be so small!?
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 8:59 am
The amused smile that decorated Kimbea's features was quickly replaced with a slight furrow in her brow. This cub was either really determined to stick with his lie, or...
He certainly looked serious though, and she stifled a sigh.
"Something tells me I can't leave, am I right?"
She was staring hard at the cub blocking her path, but she could hold no hostility towards him, even under the circumstances.
As she waited for an answer, she plopped down on her rump, lifting a paw and teasing his little lock of hair lightly before poking him in the chest to deflate him.
"...Don't play tough furball, I eat things bigger than you daily..."
She contemplated her options, but they all seemed to come to just one conclusion...
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 9:16 am
He nodded, and felt some of his tension slip away. He had no doubt she could overpower him. Step right over him even. But there would be other males outside the den, roaming the pride lands, and they'd stop her for sure. Like it or not, through his actions, she was stuck. "That's right. But you're not a slave! You seem...nice. And you're pretty. No one would make you a slave or something like that. You'd be...You just can't leave!"
He oofed, blowing out air like a popped balloon, and rubbed his chest. She didn't have to make fun of him for being small...But she was sitting! That was a good sign. He tentatively smiled at her attention. Was his offer looking better maybe?
"So you are a good hunter? That would be wonderful. You'd be prized by any male here..."
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 9:37 am
Oh jeez, he smiled.
She glanced toward the entrance of the den in a heartbeat.
She was avoiding her natural reflex to smile back, and it only made her seem a little more stern when she replied.
"As good as a leopardess can be, I suppose."
She thought it over, about the fact she couldn't leave without some kind of fight or dying, and she rested her paw on top of the cubs' head.
"...Alright, alright, I'll stay... Just one condition..."
Her gaze dropped from the den's entrance to the cub himself, a stern frown crossing her hardening features as she attempted to seem much more angry than she actually was.
"You try to act tough again, I'm tossing you in a lake."
Even through her false hostility, her gaze held a teasing softness that she was sure he would pick up on... Not that she wasn't trying to hide it.
With age, he'd figure it out, if he didn't already.
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