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 Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 6:38 am
 Out on her own. The freedom was both wonderful and terrible. Sciuri loved being able to just go wherever she wished in search of adventure, but she hadn't realized how lonely it could be to be alone. Her four sisters, one brother, two parents, and aunt had always ensured that she was never truly alone, and it was not exactly comfortable some nights to be alone in the rogue lands. She particularly hated when she could hear the eerie laughter of hyenas in the dark. Those times she just curled up and made herself as small as she could.
However, those were nighttime concerns and while the sun would be setting at some point in the day, it was several hours away and Sciuri wasn't going to let herself worry about that. She hadn't even heard the hyenas for several days anyway. Maybe she'd passed out of their territory. Certainly she'd been covering a great deal of ground since hearing them in an attempt to do just that. Her aunt Gliri's stories about hyenas had made her quite positive that she wanted nothing to do with them, ever.
There was a watering hole ahead, but very few animals had gathered around it. That was fine. Sciuri wasn't hungry. Not yet anyway. She just wanted a drink, and maybe she would take a quick dip as well to cool off. The African sun was very hot, after all, and she had been walking through the hottest part of the day. It was a pleasant relief to lower her head to the water and begin lapping away, even though it was neither cold nor particularly clean. Something had waded through recently and stirred up some silt from the bottom.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:13 am
 Umbuji too was out on his own, though his reasons may have been different to Sciuri's. The Lion, so used to living on his own and taking care of himself, had decided to seek out a pride, and to test whether or not it was where he wanted to live for the rest of his life. Sick of spending nights sleeping uncomfortable in hollows that were not capable of holding lions his size, Umbuji had made the decision to go.
And going he was, he had been following a river for some days now, hoping it would lead him to the sea and the pride. However he'd had no such luck yet, and so had thought to stray from his path slightly, and look for somewhere to spend a nice relazing afternoon, something he enjoyed dearly.
He'd happened upon the waterhole by chance, he'd just chosen the right way to go, and was happy that no one was about. Although he liked meeting others, he was weary and looking for some alone time. He'd dived into the water, swimming around playfully and getting himself refreshed. Then, shortly after he'd climbed out of the water and hopped ontop of a nice large rock, where he now lay basking in the sun.
Had he been paying any attention to his surroundings, he would have noticed that someone knew had come across the area, however he was too distracted by staring at the clouds. Perhaps she would noticed the wet paw markings leaving the water and heading towards the rock which he now lay atop.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 6:16 am
Having grown up near a fairly fast-flowing stream, Sciuri was a bit spoiled when it came to water. She knew it was possible to drink from water that wasn't clear and moving, and that it probably wouldn't make her sick - both her parents had reassured her and her siblings of this before sending them out into the world - but that didn't mean she felt any inclination to submerge herself in it. Even if the notion was tempting in the heat of the day. She reminded herself that she would have to groom all the dirt from her coat with her tongue later on, and that would not be an enjoyable experience. But maybe if she just waded in a little bit...
The young lioness put one paw forward and then another, moving into the water and checking to make sure the bottom of the watering hole wouldn't suddenly fall away beneath her, plunging her in faster and deeper than she meant to go. As she waded in she smiled to herself, thinking of a time when she was younger and her sister Aylin had taught her to swim like a fish. At least, that's what Aylin said it was, though Sciuri saw no resemblance between the way she swam and the way fish swim. Just the same, the memory made her smile. Aylin was a strange one. Sciuri hoped she was doing well.
Cooled somewhat, Sciuri turned around and made her way back to the shore, which wasn't all that long of a trek. From this different angle she was made aware of paw prints leaving the water and fading as they left. They were larger than hers, which meant they belonged to a lion, or a lioness. Sciuri took after her mother and aunt in that she had a smaller build and was closer to an adolescent in size than an adult. Probably she would grow no larger. So most lionesses were bigger than she was, too.
Curiosity was one of the forces driving Sciuri in most things she did, and so when she saw the trail of prints leading out of the water and toward a rock she could not resist the urge to follow it and see who was responsible for it. First, however, she shook her paws dry as best she could to avoid leaving her own trail. Her aunt had emphasized the importance of leaving as little evidence of her presence as possible. Even though she was about to go seek someone out, Sciuri still followed Gliri's advice.
As she drew near Umbuji's rock she began to slink to move more silently. Then, when she was close enough, she sat back on her haunches and raised her forequarters in the air so that she could peer over the edge without exposing her entire body. Umbuji might have seen her ears and eyes over the edge of the rock as she observed him and tried to decide whether she ought to disturb him.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 6:26 am
His back flat atop the rock, his head pointing skywar was the most probable position one might find Umbuji, as it employed his two most favorite past times. The first, being sun bathing on a nice, comfortable rock, the second being watching the clouds and the shapes they made. He enjoyed looking at the white fluffy stuff and trying to see if he could recognize anything in the sky. Sometimes he did, most often he saw rabbit shapes or birds shapes, but more often than not he couldn't decide on anything distinguishable from the cloud formations. Today he wasn't having much luck, the clouds being very whispy and scarce meant there was little that could form a shape.
With nothing interesting in the sky, Umbuji let his mind drift to his journey and what might happen when it concluded. He rolled onto his stomach, his paws outstretched, as well as his neck. He could find himself a new home. Or, he could be back to travelling and living the life of a rogue. his mind ticked about what to discover and expect from pride life, it was something he'd never experienced before.
As he was thinking, he noticed two shapes climb into his vision. They weren't clouds, that was for sure. Brown in color, and furry, they were definitely ears. Umbuji rarely saw others as a threat, he was a large lion, which added to his ease around others, and also he was just friendly, and liked to think that there was a good side to everyone. Seems I have a visitor. he though as he smiled and let out a laugh, letting whoever it was know he meant no harm.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 6:38 am
Sciuri wasn't like her Aunt Gliri, who was a self-confessed coward. Sciuri didn't happen to agree with that evaluation, but it was true Gliri was a very skittish lioness. Sciuri was not. She also was not reckless, having been raised in a very loving family with the idea that if anything happened to her, many people would be devastated, which is why she had been observing the grey and striped lion before doing anything more.
At first she had thought he was asleep, but then she had realized that his eyes were open and he was looking up at the sky. Looking for shapes, probably. At least that's what Sciuri was usually doing if she looked up at the sky. She and her sister Aylin used to do it with their father and aunt sometimes. Then Gliri would make up a story incorporating all the different shapes everyone had seen, though recently she'd made Sciuri do it, insisting that she practice telling stories.
She had just dropped back to all fours when the large lion began to laugh. Unaware that she had been seen, she couldn't help wondering what he had seen to amuse him so. And so she was back on two paws, peering over the edge of the rock and suddenly staring directly at someone who was also looking at her. Oops!
"Good afternoon," Sciuri greeted him, seeing no other option now that she'd been seen. "What's got you so amused?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 6:44 am
He watched in amusement as her ears disappeared and reappeared, his laughter continuing. It was a warm and friendly laugh, deep, yet filled with spirit, and somewhat infectious. Then their eyes met. Aha! A lioness. He couldn't tell what she was from the sight of her ears alone, but now that he could see her face and features, he could tell what she was.
Umbuji smiled in welcome. "Hello," he said, his grey-blue eyes twinkling.
At her question he lifted a paw and pointed to the top of her head. "You ears," he said simply. "They just appeared, and in an amusing fashion."
"I couldn't help but laugh." Umbuji was still laying flat on the rock, not bothering to move from his comfortable position, it was very satisfying. And besides, there would be plenty of room for a small lioness like her to join him in his sun bathing and cloud gazing.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:05 am
"My ears?" Sciuri echoed. It took Umbuji's explanation for her to comprehend what was so amusing about her ears. When she realized what it must have looked like to him, to see her ears appear, disappear, and then reappear she joined him in his laughter, as she had wanted to do when she first heard the infectious, joyful noise.
"I see! I thought you were laughing at something you saw in the sky," she said once her laughter faded.
She was a little bit breathless from laughing, but it was a nice feeling. She hadn't really laughed like this since leaving home. Oh, she had found reasons to smile and laugh, but shared laughter at something someone present had done...that was something she hadn't even realized that she missed.
"Do you mind if I join you up there? It's a little tiring to keep sitting up like this."
Sciuri didn't know if he could see the rest of her from his vantage point or not, but her hind legs were getting tired. This was not a position she often held for extended periods of time, and so not only were her muscles protesting the unfamiliar exercise, but her balance was precarious. Two legs were insufficient, really, even with her tail swinging and swaying in an attempt to help her maintain her balance.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:13 am
His eyes quickly darted back to the sky, checking to see if the clouds were starting to form yet, and they were. "Nope, it was your ears, the clouds weren't being very cooperative anyway." He said, not sure if she had noticed the way the clouds had been before, though now they were beginning to becoming nice and plump and fluffy, perfect for cloud watching.
"Oh! Of course, come on up." He said with a smile, and shuffled over to make room for the lioness. It hadnt occured to him that she was standing in an awkward position, and when she mentioned it he realised just how uncomfortable it might have been.
Umbuji rolled onto his back, getting a good view of the sky once more. The clouds were definitely getting to the point where they would make shapes. "There's plenty of room for the both of us." He winked at her then looked back up to the sky and the clouds.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:28 am
"Thanks," she said, dropping halfway back onto her haunches before springing up onto the rock. Maybe there was another way up, an easier one, but this one had presented itself in the most obvious way, and so she'd taken it. It occurred to her belatedly that she should be glad there was enough room for her, or else she might have landed on the strange lion, which probably wouldn't have made a good first impression.
But maybe she didn't need to make a good first impression, a small part of her mind reasoned very quickly. After all, the first impression had been her ears, had it not? And now he had allowed her to join him, and he had winked at her. Winking was always significant in her aunt's stories, and it was one of the many ways her family had used to let each other in on jokes, but unlike with her family she didn't know what Umbuji's wink was meant to signify.
"I'm Sciuri, by the way," she said as she settled comfortably on her side. She was not as willing to lie on her back as he was, being conscious that it left her stomach and throat exposed and that she was in the presence of a stranger much larger than she was. Besides, she could see the sky perfectly well simply lying on her side, and she could also watch her companion with relative ease without being obvious and awkward about it.
And she did want to watch him. She was curious about everything, and now that he had come into her awareness much of her curiosity centered on him. Not to mention, he wasn't bad to look at, though she had not really had many encounters with lions unrelated to her. In a way he looked almost like he could be related to her somehow, with his grey coat and blue eyes, but no one in her family had stripes like his. No one in her family was as large as he, either. Not even her father.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:34 am
Umbuji made a face of mock disgust at her jump. He wouldn't have dared used so much energy, no, for him, it takes much less effort to simply climb up, even if it does take slightly longer.
Then a face of real shock. Introductions! He'd completely forgot, and was quite embarrassed. Normally the first thing he did was introduce himself, but they'd seemed to have bypassed that step, until now. He'd almost forgotten actually, he already felt comfortable with her, comfortable enough to share his rock with her anyway.
He looked to her and introduced himself. "I'm Umbuji." At the introduction he snuck a quick glance in, getting to know her look better, he didn't linger though, it would have been awkward if they were just lying there, staring into each others eyes. She was a pretty lioness, smaller than most he had met, and her eyes reminded him of the sun, they almost gave him the feeling of the warm rays he loves so much.
He stared up to the clouds. Now he could see something, he lifted a large paw and pointed in the direction of the shape he saw. "See that? That one is a zebra." He said, smiling and wondering if she could make out the shape as well.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:45 am
Fortunately Sciuri missed the expressions which crossed Umbuji's face as she ascended, or else she might have worried that she was overstepping her bounds or something like that by joining him, perhaps that she was forcing her presence on him all unwanted and unwelcome. She wasn't above a bit of insecurity, and having little experience meeting strangers she was more inclined to worry about doing and saying the wrong thing than most.
"Nice to meet you, Umbuji," she said, using a trick her mother had taught her for remembering names. Repeating them and then making eye contact with the person so that you remembered their face. She smiled easily as she did this, for while she wasn't the most socialized or sociable of lionesses, she wasn't as cripplingly shy as her aunt by any means. Her aunt was basically Sciuri's standard for normalcy. That is, whether she could behave more normally or less normally.
Her eyes followed Umbuji's paw when he used it to indicate a zebra-shaped cloud. She supposed she could see a zebra in it, but it was a bit of a stretch, and its shifting turned it into something more like a wildebeest than a zebra by the time she saw it and adjusted her eyes to the idea that they were seeking out cloud shapes.
"More like a wildebeest now," she remarked. "Probably trying to look more intimidating so the wild dog over there won't try anything."
She used her own paw to indicate the cloud she though resembled a wild dog on the prowl. She wasn't fond of them, really, but she found them a great deal less worrisome than hyenas on the whole. Once more her gaze drifted back to Umbuji, speculatively. She wondered how he would take it if she suggested a different activity.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:54 am
Umbuji tried to make out the wildebeest, but from his spot, it still looked like a zebra. He liked that about the clouds, that they could look different to different eyes. To him he saw a zebra, to her it was a wildebeest. The wild dog he could see though, so at least they could agree on something.
"Yes, he looks quite fierce," he said in reference to the wild dog cloud, "Though I'm not sure how he'll go catching the zebra all alone." He laughed and looked around to see if he could find anything else, and found his mind wandering back to the lioness and her looks. Her golden eyes seemed to fill up his mind. He'd not had feelings like this for a long time, most he met were not as attractive as she, and he was normally a gentleman about things, but, if she were to ask, he would not say no.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 8:02 am
He still insisted that it was a zebra, huh? Well, maybe it was his vantage point. They weren't quite looking in the same way, from the same angle and place. Sciuri's golden eyes darted back to the clouds and then she shifted herself so that her head was more or less next to his. Personal space issues weren't something she suffered from. With five siblings, two parents, and an aunt all living together, a person got very used to close quarters and incidental contact. But not everyone was like that, she had been warned.
"Just trying to see what you're seeing," she said by way of explanation. "And I think you may have something wrong with your eyes, because it still looks like a wildebeest to me."
She was grinning as she spoke, but maybe he wouldn't see that. Probably he would hear in her voice that she wasn't actually looking to start a fight, though. One thing everyone had warned her against was starting fights, since she had never learned to fight. She also had never really learned to guard her tongue though, so odds were good one day she would slip up and come to regret it.
Sciuri stared into the sky and at the clouds for a few more minutes before turning to look at Umbuji again. Her expression was speculative again as she tried to figure out how to phrase her next query. There was no way for it not to sound out-of-the-blue, she decided, so she might as well be blunt.
"Would you like to have sex?" She hesitated, trying to think if there was anything else she ought to add. "I'm not looking for anything permanent. I've just heard it's fun, and you seem like a nice enough guy, and you're certainly not unappealing to look at."
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 8:07 am
"Oh well, it doesn't matter now, it's gone," he said, pointing to where the cloud animal had been, which was now just whisps, moving on to form something else. He laughed, happy he had met someone to share his past time with, it wasn't often that those he met on his travels would stay around long enough to want to join him in any activity, but she was different.
Her golden eyes crept into his mind before her question piereced through it. Well, he thought, she was forward. At first he didn't know what to say. Umbuji was an older lion, and was experienced in the ways of adults, but he normally let things occur naturally, more organically, and the question was never really spoken. He let out a small laugh and turned to face her, his grey blue eyes locking onto her golden ones.
"Sure," he said softly, a smile forming on his face, not wanting to pass up the opportunity.
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