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 Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:19 am
 Kafele was by himself for once - though his sister was not too far away. She was out scouting for food and he'd been left to see if there were any decent shelters around. So far there had been nothing of any great interest and he groaned at the thought of spending another night exposed to the elements. There was a lot to be said for pride life and, if he wasn't so close to his sibling, it was likely he would have joined one long ago.
But Mawasii could not be tied down and he wasn't sure she ever would be.
With a small sigh, he brushed aside a litter of leaves that had fallen from the branches of an ailing tree and paused to lean against the trunk, rubbing his shoulder against the rough texture to ease an itch. He wondered whether, maybe, he ought to go a bit further. But Mawasii had told him not to go far and he didn't like to be out of reach in case trouble found him.
One could never be too careful!
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:46 am
While the siblings were busy finding their own sanctuary and nourishment for the day, a younger lioness had already secured such necessities for herself. Laying comfortably in the shade of a wide spread tree's canopy's, Eros diligently groomed her bloodied paws. Long licks were given to them with her large flat tongue, fervent on getting anything that might attract unwanted attention to her as she continued roaming the lands. Unlike the siblings, she had a place to go. But she liked to venture off from her two fathers from time to time to live on her own, and maybe find things... or others, to keep for herself. But that never happened. Still, she kept at it.
Not even an hour prior the small female had taken down a meal for herself, the carcass stripped clean, and now settled in her content belly. If one was close enough, a soft purr was rumbling from the normally ferocious feline. She always loved having a fully belly. But it all ceased, along with her calm grooming, when a scent... an unfamiliar one, made its way to her sensitive nose. Bright eyes flickered up, and around, head jutting upright straight away. She sniffed the air firmly, easing onto her paws too, lips peeling back to show her displeasure. Someone was here... Paws kneading the earth lightly, she slowly began to stalk towards the source, keeping low, and alert.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 11:00 am
He sighed deeply, turning in a circle to get a better view of the area. There were some small clumps of trees nearby and some rocks jutting out from the parched earth, but no hollows to curl up against. No old dens. He missed his home-den desperately, even now when he was fully grown. He missed his mother, too, but she was off having adventures of her own.
Kafele, beaten, sat down heavily and coiled his tail loosely around him. He'd just sit here and wait, then. His sister would be back and perhaps she'd have a better idea, but at that moment in time he really didn't want to go anywhere else. His paws hurt and it felt like he had been walking on them for ages and ages without ceasing.
Unluckily for him, he had not yet noticed that he was being stalked, his back to Eros.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 11:09 am
Her nose was successful as always, leading her straight to the culprit at paw. She stopped a good few paces from him to stare, ears flattening back, eyes narrowing irritably. Great... someone always had to come and ruin her days. Especially overgrown old folks. Claws extending to sink into the ground, she slowly retracted them, and crept a bit closer.
Once she was within range, tail flicking with annoyance, she gave a warning growl to him, making her presence known, and his unwanted. There was plenty of places to go, but here, this was her turf! Even though the male was probably twice her size, little Eros didn't seem to care... Her papa had trained her well to become a capable fighter regardless of the disadvantages she may come across. This guy was no different.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 11:17 am
It was comedic, really, in the way that Kafele leapt up onto his paws and span around to face her. It was as if he had been pricked with a needle and now he was cowering back, his head dropped low and his tail curled around a hind leg in an attempt to appear smaller than he really was. Sometimes he wished he hadn't kept growing as he had. He was a large male and he tended to stick out wherever he went.
Even still, it was clear from his submissive posture that he was not going to use that weight to fight back.
"I...uh...uh..." He stuttered nervously. "Sorry. I didn't see you there. Are you...are you..." He swallowed and closed his eyes tight. "Do you want me to go? I won't cause any trouble."
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 11:26 am
Eros pricked her ears up straight away with the reaction the male gave... not at all expecting this. Her growl died down too, and her head lifted, narrowed eyes looking him over suspiciously. For such a big guy... why was he submitting to her so easily? Snorting, her tail flicked with more irritance, lashing about. She took a few steps closer, boldly, before she stood right before him. Her head dipped just a little to sniff at him, and snort a few more times, before she circled him, sniffing once more at various places. He was acting like a scared little cub!
Arriving at his front again, she glared firmly, grunting her disapproval, "What's wrong with you.." she muttered.. her speech a little... primitive, due to not being used often. Was this even a male? Either way, she stood proud and tall, chest puffed out to clearly show who was in control of this situation.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:22 pm
He stood very rigid and very still as she circled him, too afraid to move in case she decided to throw out a paw - claws and all. And then she was in front of him again and she spoke and he dipped his head even lower. "I'm...I'm trying to say sorry."
He gulped and his eyes darted back and forth, not willing to settle on her face. "I was just passing through. I didn't realise this was your territory. I'll go straight away. I just don't want any trouble." His eyes fell to the land beyond her, as if fearing that her parents might come tearing out towards him. She was young, though perhaps she was old enough to be out by herself. An adolescent could do okay for herself, he supposed, being lighter and needing less food. Though the lack of experience might put one at a bigger disadvantage than that. "You don't need to call anyone else. I promise. I was just passing through." He thought he'd best not mention his sister in case she thought they were ambushing and called out an alarm.
Except at that moment, Mawasii entered the fray.
"Hey!" She called out; trying to distract the younger one's attention. Mawasii was built like a fighter, her good strong build bulked up with muscle. And yet despite her call, she kept her voice jovial and curious rather than angry. She stepped towards them, pausing a good few paces away so as not to instigate a bad reaction from the stranger. "What's going on here?"
She flipped the hair out of her eyes and turned to look at them sideways on. "If you want a good fight, that big oaf over there won't give you one."
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:37 pm
What a strange male... so weak despite his given size. Snorting again, she let her eyes keep glued on his that were wandering so eagerly around her. Mulling internally, her tail gave only short flicks now. Well.. he didn't seem dangerous at all. Maybe a bit disappointing, but no more harmful than a cub. And so her offensive expression laxed into one of just a mere frown. How did this guy even function if he cowered to her like this...?
Her ears perked at the sudden call, but she barely glanced over to the approaching female, not at all phased by her presence. She was more interested in this strange fella. Fight? Who ever said anything about a fight. Blatantly ignoring the female, Eros continued to lightly sniff at the male, before giving a low grunt of displeasure, "You're big. Why cower..." she muttered, in a sort of statement rather than question, voice trailing off into a mumbling rumble. If he was just passing... then maybe that'd be ok... if he just didn't linger around too long.. and this female, who ever she was.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:58 pm
"B-because I don't want any trouble." Kafele admitted, wincing inwardly at how terrible that sounded. He had the blood of warriors in him and yet he was the polar opposite of that. He didn't like pain and he didn't like starting fights or tumbling accidentally into one. He just wanted to stay alive and not risk injury. Was that really so silly? Well...maybe it was, but he couldn't help who he was, could he? He just wasn't a born fighter. His sister had gotten those particular traits. He'd been left with all the bumbling ones. Which wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
His eyes flicked across briefly to his sister, seeing the amused smirk on her face, before he returned his gaze to the stranger.
"I-I'm Kafele." He continued, as if introductions would make the situation much better. She did seem less annoyed now, though. Perhaps his strategy had worked.
Off to the side, the dark form of Mawasii sidled closer. "He's too big. That's the problem. It's made him clumsy. If you want a sparring partner, kid, then he isn't going to be much help."
She stopped and seated herself, turning an ear towards them. "Aren't you a bit young to be out here by yourself?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:09 pm
Huh... Well... her fathers had said that not everyone was built for fighting. But still... this big a guy?! It was quite mind boggling. Just peering down at him, Eros, flattened her ears again. Ugh. She wasn't quite sure what to think of all this... or what to do about it.
Her eyes flickered over to the female, holding an unamused expression, but darted right back to the male with his introduction. She never asked for that... It made her head pull back slowly, but she was a bit too stubborn to fully pull herself away from him. Again, the female spoke, but Eros hardly looked over to her. There was way too much talking going on right now. And she wasn't not particularly pleased to be questioned. With a low growl, she let the slits of her gaze sharpen just a touch, "Go." she muttered, before slowly turning to head back to her spot of comfort, ending the conversation right then and there.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:15 pm
He blinked, looking surprised at her swift dismissal. He met his sister's eyes and she gave him a small shrug in response, clearly not caring enough to be curious.
"We were never going to stay in the first place, kid." Mawasii replied, leaping back to her paws and stretching out each leg in turn. They had been doing a lot of walking recently, that was for sure. "Hey, hey, a word of advice though. My brother wouldn't hurt a soul. He truly wouldn't, but you ought to be careful. There's many a lion who would. Pick your opponents wisely, okay? Our lives are short enough without endangering ourselves any further."
She padded around behind Kafele and started off again. "Come on, there's no shelter around here."
But Kafele stood rooted for a moment, his eyes confused. He seemed to want to question her, perhaps ask whether she was okay. Why would she act so defensively if she felt safe and sound? Was she travelling alone? "Hey, um..." But what could he say?
"Come on, Kafele!" Mawasii called and she was already moving off at a speed.
"I am sorry." Kafele spoke quietly. "Goodbye." And then he turned and began to trail after his sister, but not before pausing and casting a look back over his shoulder.
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