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 Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 6:59 am
 Antallian had, to put it bluntly, been kicked out of his home again today. He had no idea what the women - his mate Inatarni and their friend Bunikee - were up to in the den and he didn't really want to know. This had resulted in him being "volunteered" for hunt duty today and the male had accepted with his usual good cheer. Especially because he had to spend all day out here, but no one wanted to do that with dinner. All the scavengers would converge, which meant he had to put off his assignment until later. So here he was, dozing on a rock in the sun, enjoying the beautiful day without a care in the world. Life was good.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 7:18 am
 Eremerus was free! Free from the exasperating presence of the very siblings who made him question his faith in all leopard-kind. Admittedly, such things were only of temporary solace as he had yet to reach the age of complete independence and would have to return to his father within the evening. However, as the months had passed and he had begun to mature, his father had afforded him a bit more freedom to roam. Eremerus wasn't sure if the same could be said for his siblings who, in all their chaotic glory, may not necessarily have mastered all the skills they needed not to get killed thirty seconds after they left the den.
...Yes, it would have been safe to assume that the leopard cub was suitably proud of his own resilience and capabilities. He wasn't perfect but he would argue that he was the best of the bunch and not one creature would ever be able to persuade him otherwise.
However, as fate would have it, the cub was not in fact without supervision today. He hadn't been provided with a babysitter by his father (this concept was laughable in itself), but he was in the company of a young Klip who he had made friends with on a previous day of adventure. Admittedly the 'company' wasn't as enlightening as it could have been as the Klip regularly trailer behind, pausing at random intervals to eat a stalk of grass or twenty, but he was there and that's all that mattered.
...It was the sentiment that counted.
Nevertheless, Eremerus wasn't an individual who really craved conversation on a regular basis and as such, the silence was a comfortable one - it gave him the opportunity to relax and listen to the sounds around him. In fact, it was one of these sounds that gave him reason to pause... it was something he'd never heard before. Alas, it appeared the Klip had as it finally caught up, tilted its head upwards and smiled.
"Oh look, it's a lion!" it observed enthusiastically, leading Eremerus to follow its gaze. He was greeted with the quietly snoring form of the predominantly white lion - well, it wasn't a complete snore, but it was getting close.
"They look bigger when they're closer, don't they?" Eremerus mused.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 7:50 am
The white and sand lion was on the verge of a true nap when he heard the voices. Brown eyes opened and Antallian raised his head to look around in a leisurely manner. No no - ah! There. A purple klipspringer and a young cat. Not a lion, he was pretty sure, but he wasn't as good with cross-species identification for other felines.
"Well an' lookee here," he said at last. "What brings a pair o' kiddies this way?" the lion asked with an indulgent smile. He liked younglings and felt he didn't get to see nearly enough of them in these parts. One day he and Spina would raise a litter of their own, but they'd both decided they weren't ready. Yet. The male had a sneaking suspicion that the likelihood of future kids had something to do with what the girls were doing with the den today.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 7:56 am
Approaching a large lion was generally not encouraged amoung cub kind, particularly given that they might be liable to eat them. However, the moment Antallian opened his eyes and then broke the silence, it would have put anyone's mind at ease. There was something easy about the way in which he moved, the relaxed manner in which he carried himself. As a consequently it should have come at now surprise that the Klip's ears had given a final quiver and he had puttered off to the righthand side of the rock to investigate a clump of grass - if the lion had been a threat to his life he would've bolted immediately.
Yes, Eremerus would've been left behind and swallowed whole, most likely!
"Science," Eremerus replied firmly after glancing briefly at his preoccupied companion. His gaze soon returned to Antallian though and he canted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he assessed the lion. "You're a lot more fluffy than the meerkats claim -" he observed at last and shook his head. "Is that genuine fluff or just air?" he enquired. Well, no one had ever said that basic introductions had to be adhered to now had they?
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:03 am
Antallian watched the klip in bemusement as it came right up to his rock to browse. But he didn't miss the fact that the herbivore was ready to bolt if he should make even one aggressive move. Kids. What would they think to do next?
The cub, however, was much more interesting. Unafraid to speak his mind, and Bauble found himself smiling in response to the kid. "Science, eh?" He had no real idea what the boy meant by that (which could very well be the point) but it was certainly original!
"Welladay, if you asked my mate she'd tell you 'twas fluff when she was pleased with me, an' air when she wasn't," he told the cub with a laugh. This boy was bold! Such a pleasure to see, and that boldness would serve him well in the years to come.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:12 am
Eremerus didn't really understand the context in which Antallian had replied and it should have come at no surprise that his brow furrowed in response. He fell silent for a few moments, pondering over what on earth the lion could possibly of meant. Alas, with his young years and a lack of exposure to romantic relationships of any sort, he couldn't even begin to imagine. Fortunately, Antallian's impression of him was an accurate one as he was bold to a certain level - if he felt no threat then why would he need to be cautious?
"I don't understand what you mean," he replied at last, shaking his head with such force that his ears almost seemed to 'slap' against his forehead. "How is it even possible to be one thing one moment, and then another in the next, purely based on whether a girl is pleased with you or not?" he enquired. It was clear that his inquisitive mind required to know, but even more noticable that he still had much to do before he began to recognise and even use that amount of wit. Granted, Antallian hadn't used a lot of wit, but Eremerus hadn't lightened up enough to even consider employing it.
"Girls aren't that strong, my sister can't do that," he pointed out after a short delay. "Are you sure it's a girl?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:22 am
Bauble watched the boy try to think that one through. It made perfect sense to him, of course, but he'd forgotten that a child might not have the familiarity to understand so easily. Ah well. The lion chuckled, but not at the kid's confusion. Rather he laughed at his own inability to be understood.
"It's not what I am lad, but how she sees me," he replied. "I don't change a bit." Antallian laughed outright at the cub's last question. "But a'course I'm sure my mate's a girl, an' she'd be sore angry with you for doubtin' it!" Inatarni wasn't always known for being restrained, and that's where lackadaisical Antallian came in to balance the relationship.
He went on to the question the cub had asked originally then. "So, you want to know if it's fluff or air? Why not come over and see for yourself?" the lion invited. It was risky, he knew that some predators would see the kid as just another meal, but he doubted he could properly answer the question himself. The cub alone knew what he was looking for.
And if he declined to investigate personally, well, at least Bauble had offered.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:33 am
"You have a weird female," Eremerus concluded with another shake of his head and a puzzled expression upon his face. So Antallian didn't change at all, from what the lion was saying, his mate's eyes changed. The tiny leopard cub was of half a mind to encourage her to see a shaman, he was fairly certain that such a thing couldn't be healthy for an individual. Goodness! What would happen some day if she saw a rock and her mood resulted in it looking like a marshmellow? She'd break her teeth and leave herself in dire straights indeed. Yes, she would have been better off going to see a healer of some description...
"And she sounds very angry too," he added. It was at this point that he seemed to put the two together and lifted a brow, "Although her bad temper would be because she's got funny eyes," he mused, pondering over how plausible this might be. Truth be told, he would be very irritated as well if he thought something was one thing and turned out to be something else - his eyes would be falsely advertising the product!
Nevertheless he refrained from dwelling on this for much longer and as Antallian next offered for him to see for himself, his ears perked forward and his lips parted in a small gape. What an opportunity! Having concluded that Antallian was unlikely to bite his head off (though his father might disagree), the green cub was quick to begin his ascend of the rock - it was a considerable feat for the child whose limbs were quite as springy and long as they would be as an adult. Regardless, he did eventually reach Antallian and scrambled around to his paws.
A slight delay and then... Well, then he set his paws on top and proceeded to gape with much more force. "Your paws are HUGE!" he exclaimed, clearly staggered by these findings.
At the base of the boulder, Xer gave a mild eyeroll at this observation and continued to observe the pair of felines as he dined on the shrubery... He'd adjusted to Eremerus's oddball tendencies by now.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:38 am
He couldn't help laughing at the cub's reaction. He'd forgotten how kids had such a tendency to take things at face value! Bauble thought about explaining to the boy, but decided against it. It was simply one of those things he'd learn as he got older.
"She may be weird and she can be angry, but she is my mate and I do love her," the lion replied simply as the cub scrambled up towards him. Talk about fearless! He doubted he'd have been so bold when he was that age, though watching this kid, Antallian had to wonder if he'd ever been that young.
It was all the lion could do to keep from bursting out laughing at the boy's reaction to their relative sizes. After a couple false starts, he finally managed to point out "Yer very small, you know. My paws won't be shrinkin', but yers'll be growin'." Little things grew big. Big things had a tendency to not go back to being little. Not 'til they died, of course.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:51 am
"Huge!" the young cub repeated as he stared up at Antallian, not entirely picking up on his amusement. After the encounter he was fairly likely to take more note of it as he pondered over the day, but it wouldn't be until he was much older that he would understand what had been so funny. In a moment when he would either meet a relative or another cub himself, he would realise what it meant...until that day he would be oblivious, it was one of the things that would be lost on him, much like 'humour' was.
"My father is barely half your size," he explained, glancing up to the lion and then back down at his paws. "Even when I grow up they'll still be small in comparison to yours..." he murmured. Clearly fascinated by these 'paws', he elected to study them while they were in his vicinity and delayed his prodding of any fur and hair. Instead, he removed his own paws from the top and circled round to the other side of the lion before returning to the front.
He was super massive.
Like an elephant.
"I wonder if they're heavy," he pondered and with that, lowered himself to a crouch and proceeded to nose the paw upwards. It took a great deal of effort and eventually, he managed to get it above his head - well, it was more accurately settled on his head and was about the same size of it too. Suffice to say that he couldn't deny one thing, "Yeah that's pretty heavy..." he concluded. "It's not fluff either," he murmured, "It's rock!"
It was the only explanation, that weight couldn't possibly exist elsewhere. Alas, the little cub was 'trapped', for want of a better word, beneath Antallian's paw and without assistance, he was going to need a couple of minutes to gather up his strength and wiggle free again without being smooshed.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:19 pm
Antallian really hadn't expected the kid to be so totally fearless and to take utter advantage of having permission to touch. The adult watched the cub as he manuevered the lion's paw around himself. He considered helping the kid get out from underneath its weight, but decided it was probably more fun for him if Bauble did nothing one way or the other.
"Yer father's so small, eh?" he commented. "Well an' I'm afraid I'm not so sure what you yerself are. As I know yer no lion." Might as well just ask him, Bauble thought, since the cub had been as direct and moreso.
The lion deigned not to comment about the weight of his paw to the cub. It wasn't rock - it bled when scratched - but he didn't want to confuse the poor boy again.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:28 pm
He wasn't fearless, the leopard cub did have a sense of self preservation, however, it was also tempered with a healthy dose of courage. If given ample reason to think that something wouldn't hurt him and would be beneficial to him, the cub was not adverse to approaching it. Xer had been one of these things - the moment the Klip had accidentally mistaken his tail for grass, under the excuse that it was green, he had elected to investigate rather than bolt. It had paid off in the long term, he'd found a new (if relaxed) companion to help whittle the days away with him and he was less frustrating than his siblings... a bonus, in case anyone hadn't realised.
Fortunately it wasn't long before the cub regained some of his energy and it was with a dramatic wriggle that he scurried out from under An's grasp. He had mostly escaped as the paw had descended and the weight only pressed down on his tail - something, that with considerable wiggling from his backside, was easily freed. Had he been an adult this would have been an incredibly undignified series of events, but as a child he simply accepted this as the way things were - there were benefits to possessing a lack of embarassment!
"Course I'm not a lion!" Eremerus seemed surprised at An's lack of knowledge, he had always thought that everyone knew this sort of thing, least his Klip seemed to know almost everything. Eremerus hadn't realised, but this was because Xer had probably spent a frequent amount of time running from various predators.
"I'm a leopard," he clarified and shook his head, "Why what did you think I was?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:45 pm
It was quite entertaining to watch the cub work his way out from under Antallian's paw and the lion was rather impressed. The kid's single-minded determination was a force to behold and he had to wonder where it would take the boy in time.
"Well, I'm sure I didn' know fer sure what you were, just that you were a cub," Bauble temporized. "It's much easier to tell a lion from a leopard from a cheetah when they're adults, ya know." That and the whole not being around cubs much made it even harder in Antallian's case.
"So. Yer a leopard an' I'm a lion. Name's Antallian - nice t'meet'cha," he said cheerfully, finally finding a good time to introduce himself to the cub who'd been using him as something of a playground.
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 2:03 pm
An should have been more aptly named as a 'climbing frame', he had certainly turned into some sort of playground for the cub. Had they been on more familiar terms it was highly likely that the green cub would have clambered all over him. In essence, he would have had the opportunity to climb the mountain as a summit, ultimately leading to a rather precarious (but comfortable) perch upon the lion's head. It would have been a very bizarre thing to see for any passerby, but it would have been of considerable entertainment to the cub in question. Alas, this was not to be the case and as such, Eremerus was limited to simply nudging, poking and prodding the various limbs the adult possessed.
Unfortunately, Ere was already distracted with inspecting other parts of the large lion as he explained his lack of familiarity with the different species of feline and as a consequence, he provided no immediate reply. Instead, Xer finally appeared to have finished his meal and trotted back into eyeview, a few burrs latched upon the fur of his legs. He gazed briefly at Ere who was now prodding systematically at various regions of the lion's tummy (to detect fluffiness) and then he finally spoke...
"Cheetahs are the smallest cubs and usually the skinniest," the Klip remarked, taking a seat in a fashion that would have reminded most of a dog. "They have very tiny little waists, you could snap them in half with your big paws," he observed and then shook his head, his ears brushing against his horns. "Leopards are slightly bigger but they're much bulkier, they look like they've eaten a good meal - each of the toes on their paws are more flexible too..."
Eremerus paused in his work at this and lifted a paw to examine it, before looking back at An's. "Really?" he enquired.
"Well you have to climb trees somehow," Xer replied mildly. It was at this point that he returned his attention to the lion, "And then you have lion cubs who are much bigger and much fatter," he finished. There was no point in him attempting to explain what a hybrid was as he'd never encountered one before!
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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 3:38 pm
It was interesting, being used as a climbing apparatus and general toy. The very idea continued to amuse him and Bauble was hard put to keep from laughing aloud as the cub experimented. He was able to sober up somewhat as the klipspringer came over, apparently done with his meal. The lion didn't expect a full lecture on how to tell different species of cubs apart.
"Well an' yer just a well o' knowledge, aren't ya?" he remarked cheerfully enough. "Mind tellin' me yer name, and yer friend here's name too?" He'd introduced himself and neither of them had taken the proffered opportunity to reciprocate, so he might as well ask for it.
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