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 Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 4:32 pm
It was what Delphia and Tangir had encouraged her for months now, and while she had refused to budge far from their side, now that she was a little older it was difficult to resist. They were a family of rogues, no doubt about it, but today had been the day that Xieros had taken her first big steps in to an even great world. While she had moved painfully slowly over the first hills, and was still incredibly jumpy, thus far everything looked quiet.
She had pricked her ears, ducked low to the ground whenever she percieved something to be not-quite-right, and smelled nothing but the wind. Slowly but surely, her fragile confidence had grown with every step farther away. The reassuring part was that Delphia and Tangir would be near. This was just like hide and seek, without all the hiding or seeking. Xieros didn't plan on being gone long, just a little while really.
A moth had helped to distract the young one, and she couldn't resist pouncing and doing all in her power to capture it. She wasn't a very good huntress at this age, but if she could bring the moth back to Delphia, wouldn't she be surprised? Unfortunately, so focused on romping around the little cub forgot that she was alone, and certainly wasn't paying attention to any borders or warnings. Distracted and carefree for a change, Xieros was doing surprisingly well at this point in time.
Until something broke her from her concentration, until she was reminded she wasn't alone, she would continue her game with the fluttering moth.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 3:19 pm
He was one of the lucky ones. He was one of those who had been blessed by the gods to ensure that the plague that rested upon the shoulders of his pride would not be the death of him. Nevertheless, that wasn't to say that he wasn't without his own burdens, duties and responsibilities. As immune to the taint as he might have been, this placed him in a precarious position whereby he would one day be required to deter all other individuals from entering. You see, from a very young age, this particular cub had already decided that he would operate as a scout for the pride.
One of the duties of the scouts was to keep all wanderers out and all pride members in. In a manner of speaking, he lived a similar life to a prison guard and while he wasn't completely aware of this at the moment, it would become ever more apparent at a later date. Nevertheless he was naive to the true weight of his responsibilities for the time being, and as such he could take the opportunity to enjoy himself on the rare moments that his mentor allowed him to explore alone.
...He would have to know the borders inside out, therefore he needed to familiarise himself with the lay of the land.
This afternoon was of no exception in this respect and his mentor had even set him a task to ensure that the lion cub had done as he was instructed. He was to locate a particular landmark that denoted the pridelands. It was a beacon and a warning sign to trespassers, they were not welcome and it was also dangerous to be here. His mentor had indicated that this would be easy to see, but as of yet, he hadn't seen anything of immediate note. Or rather he hadn't seen anything until the streak of white and black found its way into his peripheral vision... more unusual, was that it had moved.
Did landmarks move?
He quickly concluded that they didn't and his ears promptly flattened against the top of his head. Someone or something had crossed the border and no one had stopped them, could this possibly mean that he was the first to see them? A sense of excitement bubbled up into his chest and he quickly bounded after the streak of colour, soon catching up with... Another cub?
She seemed thoroughly distracted, pursuing what appeared to be a moth and it was only after he had watched her for a minute or two that he finally spoke up - he knew that eventually she'd reach the point of no return and that would be a very bad thing indeed.
"Hey, you probably shouldn't walk any further in, I know you like the butterfly-thing and all, but you could get hurt going that way," he called out.
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 2:33 pm
Xieros had been happily oblivious that Lawsonia was approaching. Her red gaze was placed solely on the moth, and she was determined to catch it! This would be good hunting practice, after all, just in case some tasty snack wound up having wings. Besides, she was getting so close! With every leap and bound, she knew her paws would soon land on the little bug, and she could claim victory.
A small giggle escaped her throat, a rare sound for the typically ever-so-serious (and easily intimidated) lion cub. For a moment she didn't have to think about her past, nor did she have to worry about her future. For this moment, she was at peace, and enjoying her game with the other. For this moment, she really was just any other cub who couldn't resist the fluttering of pale, moth wings.
Everything was well, until a voice broke up.
Suddenly, a shift overcame the little cub. With a startled squeak of surprise, Xieros landed heavily on her paws, her eyes growing wide as plates. "Who said that!?" She suddenly demanded, her petite body dropping down in to the grasses, just as she once had done to save herself. Skittish was an understatement, the moth was completely forgotten and her entire body language screamed worry and fear. Her eyes looked directly at the source of the voice, even as she quivered a bit in the grasses.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. . . This is why she shouldn't have left Delphia's side! Now she was going to get in trouble, or eaten, or both, and . . and . . well, she just wasn't sure she could handle that! The stranger thankfully was a young soul like herself, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Just because he was little didn't mean he was without claws or teeth.
"I'm s-sorry, I . . . I'll go now." She hastily explained, her voice hardly above a whisper, as she retreated backwards in the grasses. Unfortunately, Xieros was terribly turned around. All of her bouncing and hopping made it so she was unsure which direction was out, and which direction was in, and ohmygoshewasgoingtogeteatennowforsure!
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 4:48 am
Who had said it? He had said it, hadn't he? He deliberately glanced over his shoulder to check for other signs of life and came up with a blank. Short of the moth, Xieros and himself, this area was decidedly empty. He wrinkled his nose in bemusement at this and it was only after a few moments that he realised that her question was possibly more rhetorical than practical. If she hadn't known who had said it then she wouldn't be staring right at him, or at least this was the view the lion cub had as he bridged the distance between them and took a seat - not too close, not too far.
"I did," he said, electing to humour her though his tone was decidedly non-plussed. All in all he was just as confused as she was, though he was confused by her terrified demeanour more so than the social encounter itself. Suffice to say that he couldn't understand why she was so nervous when he hadn't even done anything, if he had to get into specifics, the most he had done was ensure she didn't get trapped in his pride!
"And it's okay really, you're not in that much trouble," he lifted a paw and rubbed at his ear slightly, continuing to observe the female who had flattened herself so close to the ground that she could have almost been a snake, actually, give her a little more time and she could probably be even less noticable than a snake - for someone with a coat colour like her's that was decidedly impressive. "In fact I don't think you really did anything wrong at all," he mused and shook his head, his brow furrowing as he considered what she may or may not have done.
"You could've taken a wrong turn or something, that kinda thing happens," he offered a smile and stood up again, padding closer to the female to give her a gentle nudge or reassurance. "But I figured I'd stop you before it was too late - go too far into this place and there's no way out and some folks don't like that," he continued and motioned behind him. He didn't need to get into the depressing details, if the issue came up again then maybe but for the most part, he had no inclination to inform her of the rather unfortunate pride that lurked beyond the borders or its plague.
It was at this point he fell silent, his lips parting and head tilting to the side as he watched her panic again.
Ah, he knew what was wrong...
"You're lost, aren't you?" he said finally, a mere statement of fact rather than an insult. "I can help if you like?"
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2012 9:39 am
Xieros honestly wanted to melt in to the ground. If the gods could only so bless her such a feat, she was about as flat against the ground as she could possibly make herself. It was strange to her, really, to listen to the black and orange striped cub. On the one paw, he had sounded rather upset, which had been her fault. It had to have been, right? Especially since he was talking to her, and if he had angry voice on, then it was obviously because she did something, and now he was going to eat her, and it was just. . . a horrible way to end and this was why she shouldn't have left Delphia's side and oh god. . . .here he came!
When the black cub nudged her, she visibly winced and was literally trembling in her paws. Her eyes had closed, her muscles tensed, and she waited for a bit or a scratch to come. Unfortunately for Xieros, her life with Delphia and Tangir wasn't so long as to have forgotten the take over of her original pride; the enslavement, murder, and death of so many. Her own escape, but at the cost of her brother. . . . They were shadows that had haunted her, and likely would for a good while.
Touch was still terrifying to her, even though she had accepted Tangir and Delphia as the sort to Not-Eat her. Though the black cub was substantially larger than her, and she doubted he would be able to eat all of her in one gulp, that still didn't mean he might not try.
Thankfully for her, though, all he seemed to do was just . . talk. And after a few breaths, the red eyed female slowly opened her eyes to look up at him. He was very big (but then, she had been malnourished for much of her beginnings, and would always be quite small), but . . . he hadn't been mean. Yet. In fact, he had something about going to far in to a pride and getting stuck?
Uh-oh.
That wouldn't bode well for the lioness, especially because she knew what it was like to be stuck. In a place that wouldn't let you out. In a place you didn't wish to be, in a place where escape very much so meant death at the claws of their aggressors. Maybe this was one of those places, and if that was the case, it would do her best to leave. Now. Tangir and Delphia weren't far off, just a few hills over really, but . . . . now that she looked around, she couldn't tell which part of the hilly terrain she had come from, and which part she needed to go back!
" . . . maybe just a little." She finally spoke, her words barely above a whisper. "I . . . I will go though. Just, which way is. . . out?" Her red eyes were huge as plates, and she had yet to puff up from her snake-like flatness. This was her first meeting outside of Delphia and Tangir, and though he was a cub, she already feared she had upset him. Strangers were still terrifying to the extremely skittish and shy cub.
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