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 Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 10:48 am
 
They'd eaten enough to march home on, and received a good bit of cheerful noise when they came tramping into the clan's camp laden with food. Each of the male had been afforded a choice bit, either a scrap of the pelt or horn or hoof as a prize, and Svgata was happily trotting back towards the area his family had taken for den use with a small roll of fur from the female's back clamped between his teeth. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with it just yet...maybe a gift for one of his sisters...but he'd think of something.
Absently his mind and eyes wandered, and he spared friendly nods to those he passed that he knew. That was almost everyone now. A few still stood out as strangers though. Hmm. That was an idea. He shifted his course, taking himself down another little trail in the grass. He'd never spoken to Kizuka, but she seemed a decent enough female. Perhaps a gift was just the right ice breaker! "Hello?" He called around the muffling bit of pelt. "Kizuka? Shoot...I thought I remembered seeing her around here. Maybe she moved closer to the center of camp...?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:09 am
The best part about hot days was finding a place to escape the heat. Luckily for most lions, that was pretty easy to do in the Ela. And for Kizuka'jura, somewhat lazy as she was, finding a shady spot to lie down in was one of life's greatest pleasures.
Unless that lazy time was interrupted...
Body utterly surrounded by tall grass, Kizuka's head shot up at the sound of her name, revealing her hiding spot (well, unintentional hiding spot). The fact that someone had called out to her was utterly unexpected, as the lioness didn't have many she considered "friends" in the pride. Which was...sad. Well, more like pathetic. But it wasn't all her fault. Well...yeah, it kind of was.
Brow furrowing, she glanced left and right, trying to find the source of the voice.
Oh...it was--err...that...that one lion...errr...gods above, how was she going to get through a conversation with this male if she didn't even know his name? Well, he was younger than her, so maybe he'd be more forgiving of her not remembering his name? That is, if he found out...
"Ah...hey..." she answered, her own greeting sounding strange in her ears. She'd be fine if she just avoided the topic of names...
Who was she kidding? She already sounded like a moron.
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:17 am
Whoop! Up she popped like a daisy, and he couldn't help but smile--a genuine smile--at the sight of it. "Hey!" He chirped back, wading through the long grass towards her. Not too close for her to feel uncomfortable, normally. "It is Kizuka, right? I don't think we've talked before, or at least all that much." He set the roll of pelt down to better talk, and licked his chops absently. There was probably still a little blood on them, though he had tried to clean up.
"We got a few wildebeest. My friends and I, I mean. I was heading home, but I thought maybe you'd like some company. Because...well," He realized that what he was saying actually sounded a little mean. That wasn't his intention. Too late to back out now though, wasn't it? "I mean, I didn't see you with anyone in the heart of camp, and I know sometimes newer members have a harder time fitting in..." He shrugged, and smiled again, partly nervous now. That had sounded rude even to his own ears.
Maybe he should try again. "I just mean, I thought you might like some company, since you're always alone."
Maybe he should just shut up and stop trying to be friendly.
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:42 am
"Re--yeah, Kizuka'jura," she affirmed before the rambling began, screwing up the start of her own sentence with a word she didn't even know she was trying to say. She looked up at the male through her bangs in embarrassment, unfortunately appearing grumpy instead of sheepish.
Huhhh...that was...weird...this guy kind of...well...
Understood her in a way...
So while the male was feeling awkward about his rambling, Kizuka didn't mind at all. She thought it was nice that he'd try to get to know her better. Maybe the female needed more lions like that? Ones who would take the first step, ones who would make an effort to talk to her rather than expect the reverse...but maybe that was selfish of her to think? Yeah, it pretty much was. Her lack of social skills made her so frustrated.
Sort of thrown into a dumbfounded stupor for a few silent moments after the lion had finished speaking, Kizuka finally snapped back (unfortunately in more ways than one), "Right. Sure."
Was she supposed to...stand up? Yeah, that was proper. She couldn't just lie there like a stump. Rising to all four paws, Kizuka faced the male, still keeping her head low as she peered up at him.
Now what was she...supposed to do...
Conversation topics...
...Crickets...
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:48 am
Oh. Well. This was going over about as well as a lead balloon. But then, Svgata knew neither what lead was, nor what balloons were, and he had even less an idea that lead balloons actually did fly rather well, if they were thin enough. All he knew was that apparently he'd managed to insult the lioness multiple times, and she...well, she didn't seem keen on talking to him after that. Not that he blamed her. For a long silent beat he just stood there, hearing his heart thumping slightly faster in his ears.
"Uhhh..." His eyes darted down to the roll of pelt. Give it to her, right, yeah. He scooped it up again and leaned forwards, offering it. "I thought maybe you could do something with this. Make something, or just...keep warm. Not in the day, of course, that's silly. But nights get cool sometimes. And...and you don't have a big family like mine, or a family at all, right?" WONDERFUL. Just keep digging that hole there, Svgata. Don't worry, she'll start throwing dirt over top of you soon enough.
"Guh. Sorry. I keep meaning to be kind and instead I'm just insulting you..."
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 12:08 pm
Huhhh, what was that? A pelt--...wait...
...Wait a second...
He was...giving it to her...?
As a gift...?
Eyes rounded in surprise, Kizuka watched the male lean toward her with his offering, a little unsure of how to respond to the situation. His continuous talking helped to take the nervous edge off a little, but when he had finished again, she wasn't sure of how to answer. Again. Why was this so difficult...
"Wa--no, no, no," Kizuka stuttered out, ears folding in a look that was hopefully vulnerable-looking in spite of her crinkled nose. "I don't feel insulted." She'd had to deal with some pretty rage-fueling lions in her time before the Ela, and this male was the opposite of insulting. At least, in her opinion. He was the nicest male she'd spoken to so far in the pride. But Kizuka was a little too reserved in her awkward surprise to voice those thoughts, so she kept them to herself.
The lioness reached her head forward to take the pelt from the male, head jerking in uncertainty before she quickly snatched it to herself. She placed it down and cleared her throat.
"Yeah, I don't have any...family," she said after a pause. Great, now she sounded gloomy. She didn't really care that she didn't have a family. A pride was a family, right? She was really terrible at voicing her thoughts...
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 12:51 pm
He licked his lips again when she took the pelt, more out of nervousness than anything else, really. He'd succeeded so far in putting all four of his feet in his mouth, but so far she didn't seem too put off. Of course, his heart went out to her, admitting she had no family. Her pose and tone, though not meant that way, seemed to imply loneliness, and made him more eager to assert himself as a possible friend for her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...guh. Seems I'm doing a lot of apologizing. But hey. You're welcome to come visit with my family any time you'd like. The Galvquodis? My parents were rogues, my father lost his family too. But he came here and made a new one. I have lots of siblings. It'd be nice to have someone new around now and then. Only if you want to though. You probably have others who've also invited you over, right?" He was doing his best to be confident for her, or make it sound that way at least. Like saying 'hey now, you can do it!'
"Oh. Uh. Right. Like I said...we got wildebeest today. So if you go into the camp there's lots of meat. If you're hungry, I mean."
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Listening to the near-constant stream of rambling was a strange sort of comfort to the lioness. It filled up the spaces of silence and strangeness that came with speaking to someone she wasn't familiar with. And in Kizuka's case, this male was the perfect conversation partner and--...errrr...wait, what was she...thinking...
Friend...? Yeah, that was it. If he liked her. Did he like her? She couldn't tell.
His invite came as another severe shock and her maw twitched. She'd never spoken to someone so...well, so like him. Most of the guys she'd spoken to in the past were a lot less...open.
"Nnno..." she drawled after his question, eyes narrowed in thought. The effect was such that she appeared to be glaring, however. "No one's ever invited me anywhere, actually..." The invite to accompany him to a meal was yet another blow of surprise and Kizuka couldn't quite understand what she had said or done to earn such a great level of interest and kindness from the younger male. Not that she was complaining. She just hoped she wouldn't do anything to screw it up...
"You're...inviting me to eat?" she asked carefully, her voice low. The thought pulled an unintentional smile out of the lioness, the expression twitching onto her face just slightly.
It looked like an arrogant smirk of disbelief.
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:46 pm
Wh-what? He'd tried so hard not to insult her again. He resisted the urge to back up as she seemed to glare at him. His tail lashed once, but then he gained control over it again, tucking it down. "R-really?" He had to make it up somehow, for all this unfortunate pain he'd caused her. "But...but I mean...you're one of us. And..." Think Svgata. Think! "There's no reason they wouldn't invite you. I'm sure others would be better hosts than I've been a visitor."
"And...yes? If you'd like to, I mean." Her smile would have been reassuring, if it hadn't looked half like a sneer. He was slightly wounded, but then took heart. If she was smirking to try to hide any pain he'd caused her this meeting...he'd make it up to her with a lovely meal. And perhaps she could find a friend among his siblings who was better with words than he himself was.
"Though if you prefer something else, like rabbit, or zebra, I could get that instead. Well maybe not a zebra, alone...But I'd try!" And he would. maybe he could barter for one..."I'm so sorry if I've made you mad, Kizuka. I didn't mean to at all. I just...was hoping we could be, I dunno." He shrugged. "Friends?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:43 pm
Kizuka narrowed her eyes as she absorbed the first part of what the male was telling her. He saw her as a real part of the pride? It was weird how all that time she still felt a bit like a newcomer--an outsider from the rogue lands trying (and failing) to fit in. She knew how friendly the other lions were, but it was still difficult to connect when she was the way she...well...was. So for this male to say something like that made Kizuka feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But her narrowed eyes seemed to say otherwise...
The confirmation of the meal invite lifted the lioness's spirits even higher, but the male continued speaking before she could respond. Which was probably a good thing, she realized, because her responses weren't the most...what was the word...concise? Hell, she didn't know, social etiquette was a pain.
"Www--" the lioness began after the male had finished speaking, one eye bulging in confusion. She was going to halt him to say she had never once been mad during their entire conversation, but her words were replaced with silence when the lion offered his hopes at friendship. Blinking rapidly in her stupor, Kizuka swallowed and cleared her throat, eyes looking off to the left rather than in the male's eyes. She didn't know that the gesture could possibly make her seem disinterested in the offer.
But any misunderstanding would hopefully be negated by a brusque nod and a reply of "Yeah, I--...sure,"
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 6:29 am
Wonderful. He could tell he'd managed to make a terrible impression on her, by her face alone. Part of him wanted to say that's okay, you don't have to come, we won't make you, but then...maybe his family could fix it. He shuffled his paws, glancing down at them and then back up at her, the picture of confused young male who just doesn't know what he's done to upset a female. Probably best to just go away now. Er...should he offer to walk her over? Was that how this went? Oh he just didn't know at all.
"Uhm...well, great! I mean, I'm glad we could do that. Uhm." Better just go ahead with it then. "Would you like to...walk with me? Or I could come back later, if you'd rather get ready." Females did that, right? Get ready for things? "Or I could go ahead, and tell my family first, or not. Whichever you like." He was sure his family wouldn't mind him having company. Probably they'd assume too much and be glad he'd started hanging out with the ladies. But she might be uncomfortable trying to find their set of dens on her own.
He took a step back, uncertain of what to do. "...Come with me?"
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