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 Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 3:41 pm
Poa Subiani. Warrior and Protect of Shadow Clan. Brother to the Alu'nadi. He was many, many things, this young male, but the list was just as great for what he was not.
He was not, for instance, an especially cheery fellow, his face usually stoic, his bright eyes strangely serious. He had a poor sense of humour, shunned others for a life of solitude, and spent much of his day working instead of taking the time to enjoy life - even for a little bit.
The sun could be bright and shining, a cool wind blowing down from the mountains, birds chirping merry songs in the air, and Poa would frown on, unaware of all of it. Seeing only the border of his territory and walking its familiar lines. Sometimes, in the distance, he would spot a rogue lion and he'd call out a warning and watch them turn away. Other times they would draw closer and he would find his inner 'warrior' and charge down to intervene. Most of the time they would divert their course and move off, but sometimes they would stand and wait and an exchange of words would follow.
His sisters had told him many times that he needed to find something in his life other than his work; even Eeva who was supposed to be their leader! He'd just scowl at them and tell them that the Clan needed someone to keep watch and he might as well be that person; he and his elder brother, of course. And they would smile at him in an almost pitying fashion and something would claw and niggle at him until he was forced to turn away or otherwise throw sharp words at them.
Didn't they understand that he just wanted to protect the clan and pride?
This morning had him skulking around his usual haunt at the Shadow Clan borders that stretched out to the unclaimed lands. It was the border that needed the most watching and one that offered, perhaps, the most solitude. After all, none of the hunters or huntresses came this way very often. Very occasionally he'd pass another out on patrol, but more often than not, his father would come to join him.
Today, however, he was very much alone, standing as tall as possible, his eyes cast out across those wild, unfamiliar lands where there were no rules. No order.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 4:55 pm
It would be unfair to say Sesere was always cranky, but she often was and today was no exception to that particular fact. Kalanu had, somehow, convinced her that a game would be a fun way to cheer her up- and keep herself busy. There was no hunting to do for a while, it was still early, and Kalanu was still clinging to childhood while it was most socially acceptable- though she didn't foresee herself becoming any more serious and mature anytime soon.
Kalanu had sent her avian companion off to hide, daring her to pick somewhere new and exciting-- and this had led her rather far from the Mantis Clan. She had not wandered so far from them before, she had no idea where she was headed but she knew she was still in the Ela'wadiyi territory.
Looking for clues left by Sesere, she wasn't particularly mindful of other lions around her- especially since she felt so confident she was still near home, even if not with her clan.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 5:25 pm
So focused on looking out across the expanse beyond this little piece of land, Poa did not notice the approach of another until the sound of her footfall startled into the peace of the morning.
Instantly annoyed at himself for letting someone get so near without him having noticed, he span around to face the intruder - though in truth he expected it to be some relative of his out wandering before the day's duties got into full swing. What he didn't expect was to be faced with a dark-pelted stranger. Although, only stranger in the sense that he didn't know her. The gold tattoos emblazoned on her pelt were a sure sign that she was a member of the pride.
He gave a small huff and drew himself up tall and proud - wishing that he was fully grown so that his mane and stature might be more impressive. Thankfully, with the rogue genes in his blood, he had the promise to grow bigger than his father (who was, in truth, a very small male).
"You aren't of Shadow Clan." Poa gave in his way of greeting. "What are you doing way out here this early in the morning?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 5:49 pm
Kalanu was focused on her game but she wasn't oblivious or stupid. Poa was not far off when she realized she had company and she looked up with a small smile. She noticed very quickly that the approaching stranger was a pride member but that he didn't look very familiar- or happy. Pity.
"No," she responded, a bit disappointed he wasn't very friendly or polite in his greeting, though it wasn't that surprising, "I'm playing a game with Sesere. Sort of like hide-and-seek, I suppose."
She paused to glance around before looking back at Poa. He wasn't being very polite but that didn't mean she couldn't be.
"My name is Kalanu Kalisetsi," she introduced herself, "I'm from the Mantis Clan. And you?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 1:57 pm
He blinked. "Sesere?" He glanced around, expecting to see some other lion come bounding out of the grasses. Either this lion was an exceptional hider or...she had an imaginary friend. He wasn't sure which would be worse.
His head lifted at her introduction. The name didn't ring familiar, not even the surname. From a small family then, perhaps? Ah, Mantis Clan. That made more sense. As far as he was aware, his clan had not had much dealings with Mantis. Earth, Bird and Wolf held connections, but the others were somewhat distant in comparison. A shame, then, that his sister was not here. She always loved to take the opportunity to speak with other clan members.
Ah, yes, she'd asked for his name. He flicked an ear, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. "Uh, Poa Subiani." He took a step to the side and then a few tentative steps as if to leave her. "I...I'll just leave you to your game." After all, he'd been told that he wasn't exactly the most fun sort and he had to agree that it was true. Even his older siblings teased him about it.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:41 pm
Looking the stranger up and down, it didn't take long to recognize that he wasn't having very much fun in whatever it was that he was doing- such a shame. It was so early in the morning.. but that also meant any paranoid night guards could start to take it easy now it was light out again. It'd be such a shame to just LET him go on having no fun.
"Oh, no!" she said, smiling at him and taking a step closer to him, "Why don't you help me, Poa?"
Kalanu had no problem immediately addressing him by only his first name, she might even have shortened it to some nickname if it wasn't already so short.
"It'll be fun," she continued, "Sesere is small and black but she leaves clues about where to find her, often with one of her faded feathers."
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:00 pm
He startled at the suddenness of her exclamation, bouncing lightly back on his paws and turning to look at her with a sort of wary look. "Help?" His eyes flickered suspiciously, grazing across the landscape as if expecting another lion to suddenly leap up and grab him.
His claws curled out into soft earth as if to prepare himself for the worst - though if he'd taken the time to think about it he'd realise how stupid he was being. She was an Ela'wadiyian. Not a rogue!
"Fun?" Apparently he was good at one word questions. Then, slowly, full understanding dawned on him. Small. Black. Feathery. Sesere wasn't a lion then. She was a bird.
"So...you're playing hide and seek?" He arched a brow. "Uh...I...don't have time. I'm on guard duty." Constantly on guard duty, too, if he managed to get his way. He took another small step back, wondering why girls wanted to 'play' and 'have fun' all the time. Maybe he should recommend that she go see one of his sisters. They'd be willing to join in and get him off the hook.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:52 pm
"But it's daytime, it can't be as critical as at night to have a guard about right here," she said in a rather hurried voice, looking him up and down yet again. Kalanu didn't want to take no for an answer, he looked like he needed some fun, but.. she needed to size him up and decide exactly how intimidating he was. He was handsome- or he would be if he smiled. And he did kind of stumble around rejecting her. Maybe he didn't have to be intimidating.
"The last clue was a little pile of rocks, I think it means the mountains," she said, observing that he had mountainous tattoos on him and wondering if it might encourage him to change his mind, "So I'm headed that way now. Are you sure you don't want to come? It'll be fun!"
No, she didn't really care if she repeated herself in the interest of gaining a companion. It sometimes helped when arguing with Sesere.
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:12 pm
"Rogues take the opportunity whenever it presents itself." Poa grumped, not liking that the girl was insinuating he was wasting his time. He took anothr step back anyway, his tail swaying with slow thought behind him. Again, his bright eyes dithered, wondering if he could make a quick escape and continue his patrol further down the verge.
Yes that would...
Wait. What?
"Mountains?" That certainly did catch his attention. "You can't go to the mountains. They're dangerous. I should know. I've been there and even as a guard, I didn't go alone." He set his jaw and looked at her sternly. "Something might happen and you could get hurt. Falling rocks. Thinner air. Exposed to the elements. Clouds could fall around your head or a wind could pick up." He remember, quite clearly, how hard the climb had been for his young paws. "If your friend went there, then it wasn't very thoughtful."
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 8:37 pm
She didn't like that he kept stepping away from her, though she didn't let it discourage her. Kalanu was pressing him to join her for a game well aware of the fact that he wasn't immediately interested, trying to back away slowly seemed to be a common method of evasion.
"How did you figure all that out?" she asked, happy he was actually talking to her now but doing her best to hide her smile with a curious look. Maybe he would forget he was supposed to be grumpy and just keep talking to her, "Why did you go to the mountains?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 11:32 am
He grumbled under his breath, his eyes slightly narrow as he regarded her. "I went there to..." It sounded childish now. But he had wanted to prove himself strong and brave and a good guardian. He had wanted to test his skills even when he was still so small.
"To...test myself." He finished at last. "I was younger but I had a friend with me. He was fully grown. Able to fend off the dangers we found. Besides, my parents told me its a holy place where we shouldn't tread. You know...sacred to the spirits."
He snorted. "I've only been there once and I think she was right."
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 1:10 pm
No, glaring was not a good look for him, she decided. It was a good way to distract her from being intimidated by the faces he was making at her, he wasn't scary if you just thought about how silly he looked.
"What makes you say that?" she asked, curiously. She was still trying to keep him talking but now she really wanted to know about what he found there that made him believe it was sacred.. or even dangerous, though that was a far more common and immediately realistic opinion.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 1:16 pm
He shifted uncomfortably. "We met something near the top of those mountains. A...a creature of some kind. Like a lion, but not. Some sort of deity." He cleared his throat. "Not dangerous but...I don't know. After that, I didn't feel all that comfortable about being in that mountain."
His brows lowered over his eyes. "It's not a place for lions. Or birds. You'll have to tell Sesere that when it gets fed up with hiding and comes out to look for you."
Yes. He was a bundle of laughs indeed.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 1:35 pm
....
It wasn't quite what she expected but it was something interesting. It almost made her want to go off and see for herself but she had never had any intention of climbing all the way to the top of the mountain. Even Sesere knew she wasn't that dedicated to their games. It was only fun while it wasn't hard work.
Then she realized what he was saying- he wasn't just saying he wouldn't play, he was saying she shouldn't. Or more, he was saying it like she wouldn't.
"Oh, no, I'm still going to go look for her," she said, decidedly not elaborating and instead restating her invitation, "Are you sure you don't want to come?" She knew he didn't want to go for fun but maybe he would out of some strange duty as a guard or something.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 4:54 am
"What?" His eyes widened and then he scowled. "Didn't you just listen to anything I said?" Silly girl! Was she really that determined to get herself into trouble and all because of this bird and its games? Well, when he got a hold of this Sesere, he would give her a word or two about being responsible!
"I'm really not going to convince you, am I?" He replied, grumbling. "Fine. Look. I'll come with you, but only to make sure you don't get yourself hurt. I think that Sesere of yours needs a firm talking to as well." He nodded, brow furrowing. "But if its too dangerous, we're coming straight back and I'll escort you all the way back to your clan if I have to."
He grumbled under his breath and looked, almost longingly, at the territory border, wishing he could be patrolling it peacefully right now.
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