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 Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 8:58 am
With her dark pelt she could more or less move about unnoticed and those that did notice the dark costumer more or less turned away. She had been considered ugly from birth, with her coat of charcoal and her seemingly blood tipped fore paws, she had become even more repugnant after the hyena.
Her lip turned in to a permanent scowl her ears torn and the lids of her eyes never quite sat right around her bloody red eyes, to add to this when she walked she walked with a stooping hobble her back legs turned at an odd angle so though she moved silently she constantly looked like she was sneaking because her back was so sloped.
Despite all of this she was an excellent costumer and for those who could look past her undesirable looks she could provide items of exquisite beauty, that any lord or lady would be proud to wear. Much of her wears went secretly to lions she knew needed them and would not come to her and they wore the garms proudly and she watched them walk by. She had always done this, she had been born in the pride and those who knew her turned away, those who didn't came stared and moved on, sometimes with an item, sometimes not.
Today she had abandoned her work area in the hopes of finding something special so she moved along with her sloping gait searching for that one thing that she needed to complete one of her most beautiful and intricate designs to date.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 9:41 am
 Tam Linn stood in front of the large thicket that had been woven by the thorns of his roses. The thick branches had interlaced through the generations of the keepers who had watched over the pool in the center of it and the unique flowers that grew at its heart. There was one way in, and it was hidden unless you knew how to find it.
This morning the white male was working on the thicket, cutting it back so that it did not choke the trees and other bushes around it. There was a delicate balance that had to be kept within the forest, and as one of the keepers of the wood, the Groundling male made sure that his part of it was well tended, while allowed to remain wild.
They may have made their home here, but they did their best not to harm the other creatures that did also. Cutting back the thicket was a chore that Tam actually enjoy, and while he worked, he began to sing in his deep, rich voice, his tail swishing to his song, the rose marking on his flank flashing in the muted morning light.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 9:54 am
Her dark ears flickered and blood red eyes moved to the shape at the bushes. Had she come out this far? Yes she had. It amused her sometimes when she got lost in her search, when she forgot how far she had gone. She should have known really her legs were starting to hurt. Any extreme hunting activity caused her pain in her joints.
Still realising she was in the world of the groundlings wasn't a bad thing, they were a kind folk usually and this one was making quite a nice sound. She had never been able to sing, her voice was muted.
"Thats quite a beautiful little ditty." She whispers, her voice sounding choked as if it was not used to be used, or that she was desperate for a drink. She was neither she simply could not raise her voice above the throaty rasp.
She smiles a lopsided smile that often looked like a grimace due to her misshapen lip, it was the only smile she had though so she used it when necessary. Right now it was necessary she was happy to hear the pale males sing song voice.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 10:36 am
Tam turned to the whispered sound of voice, violet eyes regarding the owner. She looked as if she had been in a fight, and had not come out the victor, save that she had retained her life. Still, there was something rather beautiful about her. Perhaps it was that she still carried on, despite wounds that must still pain her, or the emotional suffering that she must carry on her shoulders. The direction she came from meant she walked from the mountain...from the Pride. Lucky her...
The white male gave her a welcoming smile, all of his charm within it as he left his task of trimming the thicket, " Thank you M'lady, it is always nice to be complimented on one's hobby. Nuala is always comparing my singing to a bull frog's mating croak, but then her voice could make a god weep with how sweet it is."
He wiped his paws on some leaves to get them somewhat clean before sitting down, " What brings you so far from the mountain Lady?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 10:53 am
The dark lioness raised a scarred brow, she didn't very often get called a lady. It wasn't very often that she felt flattered but at this moment she did, though this one was obviously a charming rascal. He could probably charm the hind legs off a bull frog.
"I didn't realise I had come out so far, one of the problems with getting lost in ones work is you sometimes forget the time." The dark lioness sat slowly her spine twisting as she tried to get herself in to a comfortable sitting position.
"I'm looking for feathers. Silly I know, but I can ask for furs and claim some pretty flowers, but feathers, well feathers I have to find on my own." She rolls her shoulders slightly and lets out a heavy sigh, she had to get back to her den before nightfall she knew that, she was not fit to spend a night out on the borders.
"Well take it from one who cannot sing a note, your voice is very nice." She whispers settling her blood red gaze on the big male. "I perhaps know you on sight but I do not know your name, I am Valkerie, the costumer."
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 12:04 pm
He bowed his well groomed mane at her in acknowledgment of his singing, " Again thank you, Lady," but to her statement he gave only a wary smile, " I doubt you have seen me. I tend stay well away from the Pride along the mountain. They have little use for me or I for them. I am Tam Linn, and it is my pleasure to meet you Valkerie."
He gave her a thoughtful look, " Feathers...humm...I may be able to help you. Come, this way." He turned tail and walked a little way into the tree line, stopping at some wicked looking thorny branches. " There is a tunnel through here, do not be daunted by my home's defenses. Just follow me and stay to the left and they will not harm you."
With that, the male, who was much larger then she, crawled into the thicket without any worry. Should she follow him past the peril of the thorns, she would find that the tunnel opened up into sheltered canopied paradise. The trees branches grew thick and close together, the ground was lush and soft with moss and grass, and a rock cliff dominated one side where a clear waterfall fell to feed a smooth pool that all around grew thick, beautiful, white roses.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 12:41 pm
The lioness stands slowly, her hips realigning as she followed the big male. She smiles her crooked smile. "I know the feeling. It is a hard life to have, one of loneliness, I know the chore of it. I know the cure too though." She pauses following him past the thorns without a moments hesitation. She was not one to hesitate,s he never had been, it was perhaps her only downfall after all if she had hesitated she would not look the way she did now.
"You live out here without ever visiting the main pride? I may be ignored but I live close to them." She had always lived n the pride and she had been raised to be a great costumer, she just had problems, she was not looked upon kindly because of ehr twisted looks.
The lioness lifts her head to look around the pale lions home and smiles lightly "It is beautiful here." She whispers, her voice cracking a little because of the inflection she put upon the words. "I have never seen so many white roses."
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 1:00 pm
He chuckled at her, leading her to a bed of soft, cool, moss, near a hallowed out rock that held clear, clean, water from the pool, " Lay down and rest. It is very safe here. The thorns are good guardians. As for the Pride, I do very well without them Lady. They do not like my kind near them."
Tam made sure she was comfortable and that the rock was full before he walked to the other side of the clearing, " Thank you again for your compliment. I care for the roses, and they bloom for me. You're lucky, Nuala and the others who are usually here are attending the Moon Dark dance and will not be back here for the next couple of days. It means it is blessedly quiet."
The male rummaged for a bit and came back with a couple of hares which he laid in front of her, " Its not much, but it should hold you over Lady while I look for that feathered drape that the girls were playing with the other day...has to be somewhere here...." Tam pondered as he sat down clearly thinking as to where the leopardesses had stashed it in the branches above them.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 1:18 pm
The lioness smiles lightly he was such a gentleman, she had never met anyone that just treated her as if she was a lioness not some beast to be ignored and avoided. "You are very kind Tam" She whispers settling down on the soft moss, her tired bones glad to be resting.
"I don't often come out this far, I'll be feeling the ache in the morning." She laughs lightly and shakes her dark head looking at the two hares he had placed before her.
"I'm not use to peace and quiet myself, I'm usually surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the work place." She lifts one of the hares and very deftly she skins it, pulling away the skin in to a clean ful pelt, before she turns to the other performing a similar task to the second hare,her paws fast and deft, skillful in making the most out of the two small pelts and leaving behind the meat which she lay down but didn't touch.
"You will let me make you something from these furs for your kindness Tam." It wasn't a question, she slips a bag from around her throat and rummages inside pulling out some long thin leather twine.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 1:30 pm
He smiled at her, his tone matching hers, " If you eat the meat on them I will." The male gave her a wink as he watched her skin them, " You have much skill Lady. I do not think I have ever seen anyone manage that so well. I shall have to find those feathers for you while you work."
Standing up he padded over on silent paws to where the girls slept and often kept their treasures in the nooks and crannies of the trees they claimed as theirs. For so large a male, he moved very quietly. He could probably ghost through his wooded home without much sound, a wraith of the wood.
Tam rummaged for a few long moments before he found what he sought and he pulled out a drape of many colored feathers all stuck together with a novice paw. A few were a little bent, but for the most part they were in good condition. Walking back over to where his lady guest work, he set it down in front of her with a rather pleased smile on his muzzle.
" I knew those imps had it somewhere. Most Groundlings love pretty things, but Nuala and her playmates I think I worse then most."
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 1:47 pm
The lioness nodded lightly. "I always work for my meals Tam." She laughs gently, her laughter a rough throaty cough. "I have been doing it since I was very young, few want to play with someone who looks as I do so I perfected my craft." She smiles her scowling smile. "Lets see, too small for a hood." She holds up the two skins and nods. "Gloves for your forepaws then so you never get a p***k from one of your roses again."
She looks up at the big male admiring the beautiful flurry of feathers. "Are you sure your girls won't mind? I wouldn't want to rob them of their treasure." She smiles gently, her eyes smiling more than her scowling mouth, she appreciated the offer but she would not take of something that belonged to someone else.
She pauses for a moment and turns her attention back to the fur before her carefully stringing the furs in to gloved, toe spaces free so that Tams toes could pop through the gloves and he could retain his dexterity while the rest of his paws would be protected from the stabbing thorns. "Give me your paws" She whispers holding her own paws out.
"This Nuala, she is your mate?" She questions as she waits for his paw. "I thinks he would be upset if you gave away such a prized possession."
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 2:14 pm
Tam held his paws out for her dutifully, " These will help very much Lady thank you, and there was no need for you to work for this meal. You are my guest. One I hope to entertain more then once."
At the question of Nuala being his mate he blinked a few times, then laughed, the sound rich and vibrant and very, very, amused, " No..no..Nuala is my..uh...ward. I helped raise her. She is a leopard. Her and her playmates are the terrors and joys of my life, depending on the day and my mood."
He shook his mane at her, " They alternately amuse me and vex me Lady, and trust me after this last little stunt of theirs, if the dance had not been for these next few days my roses would have had a pink tinge to them."
The white male sighed, " but that aside, the feathers won't be missed. The girls put it together as a toy. They will enjoy wandering back along the woods gathering the feathers up all over again. In fact, if you tell me what you fancy, I can have them find them for you. It will provide endless entertainment for them, and peace and quiet for me."
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 2:38 pm
The lioness laughed lightly, a lion with a leopard as his ward? It sounded odd to her, but perhaps that was why he was so kind to one who looked like her. If he could see past a species gap to protect leopards he could obviously see past disfiguration.
She holds one of his paws and slips the glove over his paw before moving tot he other, her paws quickly tying them in place. She admires her handy work and nods. "They are quick and I usually add some sort of adornment, but I suppose an adornment would only get caught in the thorns." She nods lightly placing his paw on the ground.
"Still, kindness should be rewarded and it is the least i can do, That is my skill, I am a costumer and if I can pay my way with my craft I will." She nods her head lightly "I don't often come this way, it is a distance for my legs." She smiles her twisted smile. "I would appreciate your help with feather though I enjoy creating things from feathers." She whispers looking at the mass of feathers and considering what she could make from them.
"As long as you are sure I will take them but I will bring your girls back something pretty they can enjoy made from them." She sighs gently, she knew she would have to get going or stay for the night, would she be pushing her welcome? "I wonder, can I stay here until the morning? It is difficult to traverse the forest at night." She pulls one of the skinned hares to her self, she wan;t very hungry, she had learned to live on a simple diet and a nice fresh hare was something nice and succulent if a little stringy. "I do not wish to out stay my welcome I will leave if you wish me to."
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 3:01 pm
" These are perfect they way they are. Serviceable and durable." He smoothed each paw over the other, enjoying the feel of the fur. Tam was, if anything, true to his nature and included in that nature was a good dose of hedonism.
" They would like that, they always enjoy pretty things. You can never go wrong with Nuala and pretty. I've been told she is a lovey feline, but I am afraid it is rather academic for me. I've known her since she was a cub."
The white male smiled at her, and placed one of his large paws on her shoulder, rubbing her strained back with surprising gentleness, " Of course you can stay, and anytime you wish to visit just send word a day ahead Lady and I shall either meet you half way or send Nuala or one of the others too. We can help you with the walk down."
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 3:39 pm
The dark lioness nodded lightly and rested her chin on her paws. "Thank you, you are very generous Tam, I promise I will make your girls something beautiful."
She yawns and closes her eyes tensing for just a moment as he touched her back. His paws were gentle and she felt, calm, at peace, she hadn't been touched, massaged or anything else for that matter since she was a cub, she had been kept at arms length. Always at arms length and tam, he was being so sweet to her.
"I will come back, I like it here, it's, it's very calm." She sighs lightly allowing herself to relax in this lovely place with the kind male.
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