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 Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 1:29 am
 Ak-kila had a tendency to scold others when they disobeyed rules. She was the first one to tattle when one of her siblings did something wrong. However today was the day she was breaking the rules. She had been having trouble sleeping lately and she hated trying to lull herself to sleep. This night she decided to do something different. She quietly snuck out of the den, trying her best to not make a sound. Despite her best effort she ended up tripping and falling onto the floor.
Quickly she got herself back up and looked around to see if she had woken anyone up. She didn't notice any movement, though because of how dark it was she could have easily missed something. Silently she slipped outside the temple. She didn't venture too far from the temple.
She found a patch of grass to rest on. As she laid down she tilted her head toward the sky. It always amazed her that something could look so extraordinary. The sky was painted with dark cool colors while the stars shined brightly. Often, when no one was around, Ak-kila would stare at the stars for hours. She would make designs out of the stars. Tonight she was able to see flowers and butterflies shining above her. This was better than suffering threw her nightmares, she decided.
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 5:27 am
 Msrah hadn't been quick enough to snag one of the best sleeping spots when it was time to go to bed, so tonight he was the one of his many siblings sleeping closest to the door of the temple room they called home. Everyone else was sleeping soundly, and Msrah had been sleeping too until an unnatural sound from outside woke him. At first he thought he was imagining things, but then he heard the telltale sound of someone sneaking. He was pretty sure it wasn't a patrolling guard. They were quiet, but they didn't worry about being heard since they were supposed to check on things.
Aw, rats. He was completely awake now so he might as well check it out. After a quick stretch he padded out the door and looked around just in time to see a pale tail tuft disappear around a corner. Odd. He followed quietly, and soon realised that whoever it was was heading straight for an exit. Luckily for Ak-kila the guard in charge of that particular exit was nowhere to be seen, but Msrah had seen enough to realise that whoever he was following was not old enough to be outside, especially not at night.
He did feel a bit responsible for the safety of the other youth, especially since he was training to become a nanny now. Keeping the youth of the pride safe was going to be his full time job soon. But calling the guards on someone felt a bit hypocritical since he had been in his fair share of trouble when he was younger... And not much younger than now. Better to just keep following and try to do his best to prevent anything dangerous from happening.
"The desert can be dangerous at night," he said in a low but not unfriendly voice as he approached the sitting youth.
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Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 3:11 pm
Ak-kila jumped to her feet when she heard the voice. She twirled around and saw a lion around her age. 'Darn it! He must of heard me when I left,' she thought. Her mind was racing with excuses she could use, but none of them seemed realistic. "It is dangerous isn't it? You should make sure to keep yourself protected."
She went back to watching the stars. There she saw a brave lion fighting a cruel lion. She pictured herself being saved by such a lion. 'Oh how wonderful it would be to have a lion like that.' she thought with a sigh.
Ak-kila took a moment from her daydream and looked back at the lion. She felt a bit mean not inviting him to sit with him or even introducing herself. It wasn't that she tried to be mean, it just happened. She couldn't control her mouth or actions. "You can come watch the stars with me if you would like. There are a lot of pictures up there in the sky and they are really pretty." She finally said. "My name is Ak-kila by the way."
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 5:04 am
Msrah was a bit taken aback by the response. He should be careful? He was the one who was old enough to leave the temple unsupervised and she was the one that had snuck out in the first place. His mouth worked silently as he tried to come up with a suitable retort. It was extremely tempting to tell on her and just be done with it, but even if he was allowed to go outside the temple since he was nearly an adult he doubted that his parents would be impressed if they woke up to something like this. He could try to grab her by the scruff and drag her back, but that would probably not end well either. They were too close in age and size, even if he was bigger and could have easily have handled a smaller cub.
Meanwhile the brown cub was ignoring him completely, further fuelling his anger. She sighed dreamily and watched the sky, and he couldn't help but glance upwards to try to see what she saw. The stars were pretty, but Msrah didn't connect the dots and see pictures at that first glance. He didn't expect her to ask him to join him, so it caught him off guard when she did. He had seen her in the temple during classes, but hadn't learned her name. It was nice that she finally showed some manners and introduced herself, but he wasn't about to forgive her earlier rudeness completely. Not yet.
"I'm Msrah," he said, because his parents had raised him to be respectful, "Pictures?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:50 pm
Ak-kila nodded her head, not looking away from the starts. "I think when the gods created the starts they formed pictures for us to see." she explained. "It always makes me feel better when I see them. Over there is two lions fighting, one brave and righteous and the other cruel." She pointed up with her paw.
She than looked at the lion and grinned. It wasn't too often she was able to share these types of moments with another. She wondered what Msrah would think of her after this. Hopefully he wouldn't think of her as childish. She cringed at the thought.
"What are you doing out so late? Shouldn't you be sleeping like the rest of the pride? You wouldn't want to worry your family." She said, not realizing how hypercritical she was sounding. It never occurred to her that her family would be just as worried as his. "If anything happens I don't want to be responsible for your injuries." She said, trying to sound like an adult. To add to this, she tried to sit taller than Msrah.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 2:44 pm
Msrah looked up again and tried to see the fighting lions where Ak-kila was pointing. Some stars were closer together in that area, but he couldn't say he saw pictures. Just clusters of lights. Well, that one star was brighter, and those over there made kind of a zig-zag line. Perhaps if he got to watch them in peace for a while he'd be able to figure it all out. But just as the conversation was starting to turn pleasant, the younger girl turned it around yet again. He wondered if she knew how stupid her little lecture was sounding coming from a young girl sneaking out at night.
"Responsible for me?" he spluttered, "I'm the one that's old enough to go outside the temple on my own. You're just a little kid!"
And an obnoxious brat of a kid to make it all worse...
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 10:47 pm
Ak-kila puffed up her chest, trying to make herself bigger. “What if I am a kid! I am still mature enough to be considered an adult. I can keep myself protected. I just don't think I can protect both of us.” She replied quickly, a bit annoyed. He should have realized that she was mature enough to keep herself safe. She decided that if he had to she would let him stay, as long as he didn't start acting like a cub.
“You really don't see the lions,” she said looking back at the lions. There were so many different images up there, how anyone couldn't see them was a surprise to her. “Hm. Maybe to see the lions you have to have a mature mind. That would make sense. Don't worry. Someday when you grow up you will see them. It really is beautiful. Tomorrow when there is light I can draw you a picture of it during lessons that way you don't have to wait as long.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 4:37 am
"Who told you that you were mature enough to be an adult," he asked and rolled his eyes, "Or did you just decide you were? Perhaps I should go ask Shu-het the guard if he thinks you're mature enough to be outside the temple."
He wouldn't really go tell on her, mostly because the guard might start to question why he was up. Sure, he had recently become old enough to leave the temple unsupervised, but going out at night without a good cause would seem strange. Msrah distinctly remembered a time when he was sure he could do anything and was just as mature as any adult. He got a reality check when he got a first hand taste of the dangers outside the temple. There was a very good reason for the ban of cubs and youngsters leaving the temple unsupervised. The desert could be a very dangerous place indeed.
"I'm training to be a nanny," he said, "I don't go to the same lessons as you anymore."
It sounded interesting that she could draw the pictures in the stars, but he felt the need to emphasise that he was older than her. If she hadn't been so smug and insistent about being more mature he might have accepted her offer.
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:17 pm
She looked at him worriedly. Yes she thought she was mature, but she knew adults didn't quite think of her as mature yet. They thought she was a little brat. Her ears tilted back. "Please don't tell on me. I promise I'll behave and go back to the temple once I am done looking at the stars." She looked up at him with her big eyes. She knew that if she couldn't act like a grown up and get her way maybe, acting like a little cub would help her out.
"Well than I can draw you it later!" she decided getting up to go. "Now as the more mature one I think it is your duty to escort me to bed and keep me safe from harm." She grinned hoping to get her way. "That way you can show off how good you are at being a nanny and I won't get in trouble!"
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 1:40 am
Msrah was pretty sure he was being played, and that annoyed him. However, she did offer to go back quietly so he supposed he shouldn't complain. He made a mental note to be careful around this young female. She was unpredictable but she wasn't stupid in any way. He didn't have an awful lot of experience yet, but he sensed this could be a dangerous combination. He wasn't sure what to think, and the nagging feeling that she tried to control him didn't go away.
"Ok," he said, trying to take control of the situation, "But we'll go straight back. You can show me the drawing some other day."
The cool night air was starting to chill him to the bone, and he was glad to be able to go back inside. It was strange really... The desert could be so hot during the day, but the nights were chilly and sometimes freezing cold. He silently hoped to be able to sneak back in without much fuss, because he didn't think they'd be applauded for getting out in the first place.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 6:19 pm
Ak-kila stood up and started walking toward the temple. She thought about her little adventure outside and was fairly pleased with herself. It was a good adventure, she decided. She got to watch the stars and she met a new friend. "Thank you for watching me and keeping me safe while I star gazed." she said quietly as she got closer to the temple. "I think that you will be a wonderful nanny once you grow up a bit."
She gave him one of her most innocent smiles before silently entering the temple, walking carefully to avoid stepping on anyone or making any sound.
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Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 8:56 am
The way back was quiet and uneventful. After making sure Ak-kila wouldn't go anywhere but home, he managed to slip back into the den without waking anyone. He wasn't sure if he should feel proud for doing a good thing, or annoyed over the entire situation so he did a bit of both. Not for very long however, since he was kind of tired, and soon fell asleep.
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