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 Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:30 am
...That and a tiny part of her hoped to bump into the knowledgable leopard from before. When she'd met him as a cub, he'd known a great deal about well everything, least in her young eyes.
It was with a spring in her steps that the lioness pressed onwards towards the borders. She had no intention of wandering too far, but she was of the mind that she would be away for a good while - at least a day or two, if only to scout out potential herbs. The further she walked, the less noticable the smell of the ocean became... while the suffocating heat and the lack of colour became much more obvious.
Mmm...so this is where her uncle, Xenon, had come from?
...Why on earth would he have liked it so much out here?
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:50 am
 Shabnam had just had a considerably good meal. An elephant had died recently in the area and she had been lucky to come across it when there were only vultures. Vultures could be quite aggressive if they ganged up on any wanting to feed but they hadn't bothered her. She wasn't against sharing with them either if it meant a full belly with minimal effort. There were some things in life that were meant to be accepted. Free food by chance was one of those things though she had thought about watching a huge pride of lions taking an elephant down once. It had been a sight. She could never tackle anything bigger than calves due to her loner status.
Shabnam was now on the move again. She needed to get away from the elephant carcass as fast as possible. The smell would attract more predators. She broke into a slight jog with her tongue hanging out of her maw in contentment. After awhile she stopped by a plant with slender leaves, the type she could use to clean her teeth. She didn't know what it was, only that it was useful when needed. Carefully she pulled one into her mouth and did her best to get it settled between her teeth to pull any bits of food out.
The rainbow hyena had no idea that a lioness was approaching. Her full attention on using the plant to clean her teeth as it required a lot of concentration to successfully do.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:58 am
What on earth was that Hyena doing?
Zephyranthes hadn't been required to wander too far before she was greeted by the sight of foreign plants, smells and now animals. Lying down, not too far away from her, was a rather brightly coloured hyena. For all intents and purposes she would have been interested in her regardless as she'd never met a hyena before, but it was what she was doing with that plant that was of considerable curiosity. Once again forgetting her manners, the lioness trotted towards Shabnam, her eyes wide with interest.
"What are you doing to that plant?" she asked abruptly, her voice a half gasp. it wasn't that she was breathless from exercise, she just had a peculiar way of addressing others on occasions. Blame it on her curiosity, as it certainly wasn't out of horror that she addressed the hyena... that being said, she'd never seen this kind of behaviour before.
"Oh wait, maybe you're eating it..." she mused after a few moments before raising a brow. A momentary pause and then she shook her head as if to dismiss this idea, as the hyena had large teeth that were inappropriate for such an activity. "Then again you have the wrong teeth, they don't grind, they chomp," she observed softly.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:07 am
Normally Shabnam was quite alert. It was just during these occasions, when she found a plant to clean her teeth with, that she let her guard down. It was very rare indeed. The lioness had managed to completely sneak up on her. At the sound of a voice so near her, Shabnam nearly jumped out of her fur. Her eyes went wide, head swinging around to face the creature speaking. In a slight panic, she backed up and lowered her head, revealing her teeth should the lioness prove to be a threat.
It took quite sometime for the actual words to register. All she could think about for a moment was that there was a strange looking lion right in front of her. Would she never stop meeting strange lions, specifically female ones? This was the third one that didn't look like the rogue lions that wandered the lands and she also seemed to be extraordinarily friendly. It was starting to become a habit of hers to run into lionesses like that.
She stood up straight and blinked once before responding. "I was cleaning my teeth." Her voice was clear and matter-of-fact. That was all the lioness was getting out of her at the moment.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:36 am
"Oh, well that's novel," Zephyr replied smoothly, seemingly electing to ignore the hyena's startled demeanour. Naive as she was, she still wasn't completely aware of what it meant to have another bare their teeth to her - she'd learn in time, just not right now. It was just as well that she remained so close to home in this respect, otherwise she might find herself in rather dire straights! At least if something went wrong this way she could run for the hills!
"We have birds for that," she pointed out with a small smile and tilted her head to the side, "They fly right up and in, pull out all the awkward bits and then fly back to their nests," she explained and gave a decisive nod. It was something she enjoyed about home, the animals all seemed to work together, particularly since the horrors of the Tsunami. She hadn't been alive for it, but the aftermath had shaped the pride into something that even to this day, was overly cautious.
...Eventually things were going to have to change.
"I guess birds aren't so accomodating out here, huh?" she asked after a few moments and then raised a brow, "But why not use your claws instead of grass?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:48 am
Well that confirmed it for Shabnam. This one was definitely strange. Were they all so sheltered that they had no idea of how to be cautious? Clearly this lioness would have a hard time determining whether a stranger was a friend or a foe. Luckily for her, Shabnam had experience in these kind of encounters. She just hoped that it wouldn't become a normal thing. She would really have to start memorizing the areas with prides so she could avoid them.
The bird thing was definitely interesting for her though. She had to wonder where exactly the pride lived to have birds willing to get so close to their sharp teeth. She replied with a straight face, "Birds aren't exactly that friendly out here. Actually, they tend to avoid me." While traveling, her face probably looked grouchy just to keep curious animals from coming near her.
At the mention of claws, she looked down at her paws. Her claws were not retractable like those of the felines. Her's were worn down and not very sharp due to all the moving around she did. She sat down and held up her paw for the lioness to see. "I don't think I could pick out anything with my claws."
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 3:00 am
"Ooooh," the lioness murmured.
Forgetting all concept and understanding of personal space, the lioness padded forward and propped her nose firmly against the Hyena's paw to inspect it. Becoming ever so slightly cross-eyed, it only took her a few moments to realise that the hyena's claws were in fact a touch blunt. In the grant scale of things she could see how they would be relatively useless for picking food from her teeth... still, employing the use of a bird would be far easier than trying to hold grass.
"I don't see why you don't just use birds," she concluded and then motioned with her paw towards where the Bahari lands were. That was clearly the direction she had some in and as such, would have been recognised as her home. "Maybe the birds are less frightened over there, but they don't mind coming near us," she explained and then shook her head. It was only after a small moment of silence and consideration and thought that she spoke again.
"Maybe it's because we don't eat them?" she offered at last and pursed her lips, "We tend to eat lots and lots of fish!" she explained and then glanced at the plant the hyena had been abusing. "You can even use the bones to pick your teeth after..."
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 3:15 am
Shabnam pulled her paw away from the lioness' nose as soon as she could. It was all she could do just to keep herself from letting out a growl. She did not like to share her space on normal occasions. On strange encounters, like this one, she liked to keep her distance. She really had to wonder what prides were teaching their lions. There were some hyenas that liked to kill lions.
She shook her head at how very naive this young one was. Though she was a grown lion, her mind still had much catching up to do. Shabnam hoped that she never wandered farther than this from her pride. Naivety often led to unhappy endings. "I suppose your pride has forged a friendship with the birds over a long period of time. It takes many moons for an animal to overcome it's natural fears and instincts."
Fish? Shabnam had never fished ever. She only went into water to bathe herself. It forced all the fleas to jump off which meant healthier skin for herself. "I don't come across fish often in my travels. I usually only eat antelopes and zebras." Though the idea of using bones was quite appealing to her. She had never thought of that before. It would most likely require as much concentration for her to do too.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 3:22 am
"Ohhhh those stripey animals!" Zephyr murmured and flashed a warm smile. "My uncle told me about those, he came from out here," she explained and motioned back towards her homeland. "He came just after the Tsunami hit and saved lots of the pride members, and he fell in love," she continued. It had been one of the happier stories to come from the Tsunami, there had been a lot of rogues who had come to assist with this and in doing so, had ultimately elected to stay.
...That being said, many still hadn't taken their rites due to a suspicion of the water.
"You should try fish sometime though," Zephyr continued, though she made no attempt to move closer to the hyena now that she'd seen her paws. "They're much cleaner to eat and they're super tasty," she explained and then released a soft sigh, truth be told she really did love her homeland. "That and you can swim at the same time so you never get fleas... like, ever," she remarked. Suffice to say that Zephyr had never had fleas, but she did remember an outbreak that occured from a newly joined rogue; it hadn't gone down too well for some of the adults!
"I could show you if you liked!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:24 am
Wow, they didn't even eat zebras in her pride. They didn't know what they were missing. Shabnam listened carefully to what the lioness was saying. The word tsunami was a new one for her. Having never been too close to the ocean and thus not experiencing one, she had no idea what it was. Love was also somewhat foreign to her. She had never been in love. Though the way some described it, she could imagine it would make a rogue stay in one place.
Shabnam smiled at the enthusiastic lioness. Her good humor and friendliness was starting to rub off. It was hard to be frustrated with this one. "I'll try it one day." She nodded at the mention of no fleas. Swimming lions? Yep, sounded like a place that fleas would never want to live. She doubted any fleas lived near the ocean too.
As soon as the lioness mentioned showing her the pride, she shook her head. Her mouth hanging open in shock. "I don't mean to be rude but I'll have to decline. It would be highly uncomfortable for me." She tried for a reassuring smile. "How about this, I'll try fishing like you said and then one day I'll come by this area again to look for you. Then I can share my story about it as well as other things you'd like to know." It was then that she realized they had never exchanged names. "My name is Shabnam. I'm quite hard to miss so if you do see me, don't be shy." She really doubted the lioness could be shy in the first place.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:48 am
Oh yeah, she'd forgotten her manners again...Neoni would have chastised her for that if she'd bee there to witness the folly. Alas, she wasn't, and as such she could get away with it just this once. However now that Shabnam had introduced herself it was only fitting that Zephyr return the favour. Thus, she took a breath, repositioned herself so that she was more comfortable and finally provided her name. "Oh, my name is Zephyranthes but everyone just tends to call me 'Zephyr'," she replied with a smile - she even had the decency to look a little embarassed.
Nevertheless at Shabnam's reaction to being invited into Pridelands, she couldn't help but be a touch surprised. Why would the hyena look so...well, she supposed 'horrified' might be appropriate, by such an offer? The Bahari were a peaceful pride and provided that the Hyena had no inclination to harm them then they would be more than happy to let her pass through. Suffice to say that there were many things in the world that puzzled Zephyr and this was about to become another one of those things...
"We don't mind visitors you know," Zephyr murmured reassuringly, but she then refrained from pushing the issue any further. Fortunately for Shabnam, the feline did know when it was a good idea to drop a subject. "Oooh but if you do try some fish and do come this way again then I'd love to hear about it because then I can say..." she paused a took a breath. "I told you so!"
There was another pause.
"I've always wanted to say that and I never get the chance to..."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:03 am
She bobbed her head when Zephyr introduced herself formally. "Nice to meet you Zephyr." The lioness looked slightly embarrassed for some reason. That puzzled Shabnam since Zephyr had yet to show embarrassment over her lack of manners and disregard to personal space. Perhaps it was considered rude to not introduce yourself first. She wasn't entirely sure since she usually didn't introduce herself until asked.
A pride of lions that didn't mind a hyena visiting with them. That was a new one for her. Perhaps they were so sheltered that they didn't realize the fights that went on between lions and hyenas. Though there were those that could get along between species, there were still many that really didn't like the other. Maybe it would be a good idea to tell her this. "Since you've been so friendly to me. I'll give you this advice from someone who knows first hand. Please be a bit more cautious when approaching rogues. Not all of us are nice. I'm afraid that some are quite evil and may attack unprovoked." She felt better after saying it, feeling as if she had done a good deed for the day.
"I promise to let you know when I've tried fishing." Shabnam didn't make promises lightly. She meant it. It was highly amusing what Zephyr said next. It made her chuckle for a bit. "Then be prepared to say it to me." Zephyr was now the oddest lion that she had ever met in her entire living existence. It would definitely be hard to beat. It made her wonder just how odd other lions in prides would be. So far, she only knew of three prides.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:12 am
"So the next time I see a rogue I should say 'I come in peace' and then wait until they respond before approaching?" Zephyr enquired dubiously. She'd done a lot of oddball things in her life and that just struck her as the weirdest one, but if Shabnam had indicated it was for her own safety then Zephyr supposed it was probably for the best that she took note of it. She didn't know what the future held and for all she knew, she could end up injured if she didn't gauge another creature's intentions before approaching.
...She was no guard, she couldn't take care of herself very well in that respect.
"And if they say 'rawr' I should turn tail and run," she added after a few moments and then gave a nod as she absorbed the information and filed it away for later use. Suffice to say that one day Shabnam might return to admit she was right aboutthe fish and in return, Zephyr may have to thank her for saving her life!
"I promise I'll keep it in mind then," she murmured with a small smile and glanced over her should towards where her pridelands lay. She might not have the opportunity to practice it in there but who knew, maybe she'd see much more of the world some day... "But I really shouldn't keep you, if you had things to do I should probably let you get to them!" Zephyr remarked, suddenly remembering her own reasons for being beyond the borders in the first place. It was no secret that if she returned late there would be chaos, not so much because she had been up to 'no good' but more so because she could have been hurt and no one would have known...
"Truth be told...I should probably keep hunting for useful plants myself before there isn't enough light to see them anymore," she mused.
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:31 pm
Shabnam frowned at what Zephyr said. She was now somewhat at a loss for words. This lioness just got stranger by the minute. Never before had she met a creature that could stump her with words said in naivety. What made it worse was that Zephyr seemed to be quite serious about what she was saying. She had to cough lightly to prevent herself from saying something mean. "Yes, run if they attack." There really was no comment to be said about the first thing Zephyr had said.
It had never occurred to her that the lioness had actually come out from her pride's land to do something. "Ah, yes, I'll come back one day then Zephyr. Be safe." She was glad to get a promise out of Zephyr. Considering how innocently honest the lioness was, Shabnam knew she'd keep it. "Sorry to have delayed you in your hunt for plants. Take care Zephyr." She dipped her head slightly in respect before turning to continue her never ending travels through the rogue lands. Perhaps she'd go visit that really long lake to the west for fish. She had been there once and it wasn't too deep.
(Last post for me. Feel free to add the finishing touch.)
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 2:03 am
[[Nope, this should wrap it up nicely! =D ]]
"Take care, Shabnam!" Zephyr replied merrily and waved her paw towards the hyena as she turned away. "May your paws always be filled with fish and your sky filled with rain!" she added, briefly recalling the well wishes that she had heard from a deity. Suffice to say that if Shabnam thought she was strange she had a lot to learn! There were many far stranger entities in the world and Zephyr was tame in comparison to them.
Nevertheless, rather than delay her work any further the pink lioness then took it upon herself to pad in the opposite direction to the hyena, making sure to remain parallel to the borders at all times. She just didn't know the world beyond it as well as she should have and as such, she knew the importance of keeping what little bearings she had so that she didn't end up lost and stranded. In time, when she was much more familiar with the world outside the pride she would begin to extend her search radius but for the time being...
Well...
It was for the best that she stayed where she could see it!
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