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 Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 6:21 pm
 Ishara had just woken up to the sun’s rays beaming onto her face as she slept. She had fallen asleep late the previous night, and she had been tired. Peering out of her den, she saw that the day had come while she had been asleep.
Stretching out her limbs, she felt the renewed energy rushing through her body. Ishara wondered what she would do today. With all of the newcomers joining the pride, her brother was busy helping them get settled, so she wouldn’t be visiting him today.
Standing up and stretching again, the black lioness yawned as she left her den. Not really paying attention to where she was going, she made her way to where her mother slept and greeted her as she did many mornings. She liked to check up on her mother.
Walking out into the lands, she wondered what life would bring her today. It was nice out, not blazing heat as it liked to be. There were days where Ishara was sure that she would melt.
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Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 3:59 pm
Mheetu was happy to be getting some special alone time with Akairo. The older lion’s mane seemed to be growing every day and it wasn’t long until he would be considered an adult. And then he would be probably be too busy to spend time with the pale younger lion and his siblings. His eight siblings. It was amazing how sometimes he couldn’t find anyone to play with. Some were napping, others were already doing their thing (Like Zikamil with Musabari), etc. Eight siblings and not one available for Mheetu… that is, until Akairo came to see them.
Mheetu smiled before jumping to the back of the maned wolf that walked next to Akairo at all times, trying to find a perch there as he’d done so many times before when he was younger.
“Oi oi, Mheetu! You’re getting a little too big for that.” The red adolescent said with a resigned grin, his bright green eyes searching for his companion’s to see if she approved. He liked playing a part in the lives of Rei’s cubs but they were definitely a lot of work sometimes. At least today he was only taking one of them out for a walk. When they were all together “attacking” as group, Akairo just felt like grabbing Twigg and run. Not that he would though. Not really.
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The maned dog sighed but was clearly trying to contain a smile as a small pale lion attempted to climb to her back.
“He already is.” She said quietly, grinning back at her young red companion. She too was glad that there was only one today. While she was rather fond of cubs and owned never-ending supplies of good-natured patience, no one should have to take care of 9 boisterous cubs at once. Still, she didn’t tell the young lion not to climb on his back.
(I couldn't decide which one to pick, so I decided on these two XD. Sorry for the delay)
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:10 pm
Staring up at the clouds, she did not immediately notice the two young males and the small wolf. She was still thinking of things to do. The sky was clear the large billowy clouds made interesting shapes up above. Glancing down to look where she was going, when she noticed the three not too far away from her.
She didn’t recognize the red youth, but younger cub looked familiar, but where had she seen him before? Curious, she started to approach the three. It didn’t really matter if she actually knew them or not, she loved all of the young ones of the pride and would often greet them or even play with the little ones sometimes.
Others had told her that she should become one of the nannies, that she’d be good at it. However, she didn’t want to focus her life on the everyday care of cubs that weren’t her own, she just enjoyed seeing the future of the pride and watching them grow.
“Hello there! How are the three of you today?”
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 8:11 pm
Perhaps because he was indeed aware that the maned wolf’s legs were too long and thin to support the antics of the young growing lion, Mheetu proceeded to play a different game, swerving from left to right under Twigg’s body. He like being around Akairo and Twigg. Special attention was always nice and he could often pull a few words regarding his father from the older lion. He looked up quickly when he heard a lioness’ voice.
“Hello!” he greeted her happily even though he wasn’t sure they’d met before “We’re… just walking.” Suddenly, he looked as surprised as he was disappointed as if he had just realized he wasn’t doing anything too exciting. Well plenty of time to fix that!
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Akairo laughed rather loudly forever in awe of the energy of a young cub. Even he had been like that at some point and the father of the cub that was now playing excitedly with his maned wolf had caught him near the borders of the pride more than once. Had he told him that story yet?
"You’re going to get dizzy if you keep doing that.” He said with a grin before he noticed the lioness moving nearby. He threw a glance in Twigg’s direction. “’Morning!” he said before his eyes turned to the younger lion and he chuckled. “Yes… just walking.”
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“Tsk tsk.” Twigg clicked her tongue is gentle disapproval as Mheetu raced around between her legs. Her eyes caught the shape of the grey lioness before she’d spoken and the maned wolf was surprised – though pleasantly so – to have been addressed as well. Most of the times she just stuck to the background and only joined the conversation when Akairo needed her help and lately, he was becoming a rather charming young lion who could talk with just about anyone.
“Good morning.” Twigg knew the meaning of Akairo’s glance. He was silently asking her if they knew the lioness though she couldn’t really tell why he expected her to be the one to know such things. And yet, she did. Dipping her head at the lioness she whispered to his companion. “A huntress. You don’t know her.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 11:12 am
Ishara smiled at the cub’s enthusiasm. It was always good to see them happy. “Well, it is certainly a lovely day to go walking.” Standing closer to him, she recognized him as one of the cubs of a male called Rei. She hadn’t actually met him, but she had seen them from afar with all of their new cubs a while before.
One of her friends that was a nanny had told her how cute they were. It was good to see that they were growing well, and who could this other older youth be? While his friend was still cute and cub-like, he was, in contrast, in the “handsome young man” stage.
She always liked to mess with the adolescents that were close to her. Especially the boys with their budding egos. Turning to him, she said, “I don’t believe I’ve seen you before, my name is Ishara.” There were so many growing cubs in the pride, it was hard to keep track of them all.
She had been so distracted with thoughts of the world beyond the pride’s lands...
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 7:47 pm
After the initial excited greeting, Mheetu seemed to sober up a bit and he looked up to the older lion as he waited for Akairo to introduce himself first. It was a (bad?) habit of his, waiting for others to take lead and being a good little follower. So it was only the maned wolf gave him a discreet push forward with a meaningful expression that the cub spoke again.
“I’m Mheetu.” He said with a smile. “And this is Akairo and Twigg!” well, if he was already doing it, he might as well get the introductions out of the way quickly. “What are you doing?”
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Akairo laughed as he was swiftly introduced by the younger lion. He knew Mheetu had a tendency to wait for things to happen around him so he understood Twigg’s gentle encouragement. She just couldn't help herself, could she?
“Akairo. Scout in training.” He told the lioness, grinning happily until Mheetu spoke again. “Mheetu! She’s not one of your playmates, be a little more respectful.” He threw one apologetic glance towards Ishara before raising one paw to rest on the youngster’s head affectionately.
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Twigg had nudged the little lion before he had the time to get bad to that old habit of his. She worried about the little ones and constantly tried to guide them as best as she could in order for them grow into balanced adults - just like she had done with Akairo throughout his life. Actually, the red lion was the reason she had ended up “stuck” in the pridelands.
Twigg nodded when the pale boy introduced her but almost snorted when Akairo chastised the younger lion. As if he’d been the most polite little cub at that age. She looked at the red lion with a gentle smile. He was so big, so close to adulthood, so much wiser. When did that happen?
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 9:07 pm
“It is very nice to meet the three of you,” Ishara responded to Mheetu’s introductions,” I’m not really doing much at the moment. I was actually trying to figure out what I could do today.” Some of the little ones would duck their heads and shy away when she spoke directly to them.
Ishara was pleased to see that this one was confident enough to speak back to her so openly. Turning, she spoke to the other and said,”It is nice to meet you Akairo., and it is quite alright,” she said smiling in regards to the younger pale cub’s forward behavior.
Some would think it to be disrespectful to be so open with an adult. However, Ishara loved seeing it in the young ones. Strong and confident cubs grew into strong and confident members of the pride, and she encouraged it as long they didn’t go overboard.
Qualities like that were respected in adults, so why not? She had to admit though, she had gotten an earful in the past for encouraging that kind of bold behavior in the pride’s little ones. “You’re training to be scout huh? My brother is a scout, a good one at that.”
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:01 pm
“See? She doesn’t mind!” Mheetu looked at Akairo with what could only be described as a triumphant expression. He stepped forward, eyeing the lioness curiously. “So you’re not a Scout, too? Are you a huntress?” It was the most common rank so he figured it was a good guess.
Like the easily excitable but also easily distracted young lion that he was, it wasn’t long until he had stopped looking at the adults and started following a lizard that had wandered too close to the small group.
-----------------------------
Akairo sighed lightly but he couldn’t help but smile at the younger lion.
“It’s not “she”, don’t talk about someone like they’re not standing right in front of you. At least use her name, Ishara introduced herself for a reason.” His disapproval was spoken in such a light tone and with such a gentle expression that it was hard to tell if he really meant it.
“Ah yes, I’ll be a full-fledged scout soon.” Akairo grinned widely, clearly happy with the task he had set out to earn. “I think it suits me best. It’s important to keep the borders safe… and little guys like this one inside them.”
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Twigg was giggling inside her head as she watched the interaction between the two lions. Honestly, it was like hearing her own words coming out of Akairo’s mouth. Apparently she – and his parents obviously - had taught him well. Good to know.
“What he means to say is that when Akairo was a cub, he used to run off to the border more often than he should. But he always got caught.” The maned said in a smiley tease, quietly enough that the distracted cub wouldn’t hear it. The last think he wanted was to get that kind of ideas in his head.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 11:19 pm
“That is correct little one, I am a huntress. I don’t know if I would be very good at protecting the pride,” she said smiling thoughtfully, thinking about her fantasies of wandering into the vast lands beyond the border. Her life was much more flexible as a huntress.
She wasn’t expected anywhere, and she wasn’t seen as anyone special. Her only job was to provide for the pride. Who would notice if she wasn’t there for a little while, other than her family. As the cub slunk away, she laughed at Twigg’s comment after Akairo finished speaking.
“Oh, so you’re already quite experienced with the border are you? You’ll be good at it.” She began thinking of all the cubs that she had met and how precocious many of them were.....and how talented many of them were now. Looking into his bright green eyes, she said to him, “I’m sure everyone will be proud of you.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:40 pm
Akairo dipped his head with a little embarrassed smile when the grey lioness spoke, looking very much like a mischievous cub who had just been caught playing a prank. He was fine with having his past tricks exposed and used as comic relief but in all honesty, he was glad the scouts had always done such a good job stopping him. There were far too many dangers outside the borders and they only seemd to be growing lately.
“Ah well… I hope so. The scouts need to be prepared. We all do.” He glanced over his shoulder to see if Mheetu was still distracted before continuing. “Especially considering how tense everyone has been lately. Something is happening, I think.”
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Mheetu was still looking at the hole where the lizard was hiding when Akairo spoke. Without turning and still looking as if he wasn’t at all interested in the conversation, the young lion spoke in a quiet tone, green eyes fixed on the ground.
“I was playing with a cub yesterday and he said the hyenas are coming.” For such an ominous message, he still looked fairly detached. “He said a girl is missing. One of the new ones.”
Finally, the pale cub turned to look at Akairo, his expression strangely neutral. “He said there’s a war coming.” It was almost as if he was looking for confirmation on the matter.
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“Mheetu.” Twigg said the young lion’s name in a whisper, looking thoroughly concerned as she glanced at Akairo. This was not the kind of thing young lions should be exposed to at such a tender age. And what was this about a missing cub? “Who said such a thing? Are you sure he wasn’t just teasing you?” Surely this was all just a misunderstanding, a little prank someone had played on Mheetu. She had to admit that while she loved him dearly, the young lion was still terribly gullible.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:51 am
Hearing their concerns, Ishara’s smile dropped a bit and said, “Yes, there does seem to be a storm coming to our lands.” Typically, she would try to assuage any concerns that the young ones had so as not to disrupt their carefree lives.
However, whatever was about to happen was big enough that they were undoubtedly feeling it too. She had heard of the hyenas from the shadows growing near, and she had hoped that they were just trying to frighten everyone in the Pridelands in order to gain something.
Looking into Mheetu’s eyes, she could see that he was telling the truth. How awful for anyone to go missing. Everyone would soon be in danger, she could feel it. Trying not to seem to concerned herself, she smiled again, saying, “Well, we’ll just have to make sure that we all keep each other safe now won’t we?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:48 am
“Yes. We’ll watch each other’s backs if the worse does come.” The red adolescent tried to look calm in front of the younger lion but he was slowly realized just how dangerous the situation had become. “Twigg, please take Mheetu back to Mzuza’s den. I need to go talk to someone."
“It was pleasure meeting you, Ishara.” he smiled weakly and, trusting Mheetu wouldn’t object to his request, the red lion turned to leave.
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Mheetu nodded when the lioness finished speaking, looking up at Akairo for comfort. He didn’t really understand the concept of war only the vague idea that that’s where heroes were born and often died. But Akairo wasn’t an adult yet so he wouldn’t be involved in something like that, right? And even if the hyenas did come, the pride had strong lions who could fight them easily… right?
“Bye, Ishara.” The young lion said meekly before moving to follow the maned wolf.
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“Of course.” Twigg said seriously, stepping closer to Mheetu as if to herd him in the right direction. She offered the lioness a silent nod before quickly following Akairo’s request.
- FIN! -
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