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 Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:26 am
Tendaji had taken to wandering from his family's home by the river bank. He never left for very long or very often, but it said a great deal that he left at all. Flirting with Esen and sparring with Cari had both done a great deal to restore his self-confidence. Not to mention the time he spent with Tujil-dasu... she was his best friend, he always felt safe when she was near. But Tujil-dasu had wandering paws and Tendaji didn't want to be dependent on anyone.
Besides, how could he stay home on such a sunny, beautiful day? The bag of good luck charms he carried bumped reassuringly on his chest as he strolled along the river bank. Something good would happen today, he just knew it. At the very least, he'd think up some new stories to tell Cari.
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:07 pm
It was a nice enough day for wandering, and with her siblings all grown up and long gone off to their new lives, Fushigibana was alone and did not much like it. She was an adult now and not living with her parents any more.
She was supposed to find a place to live and be her own lion. Whatever that meant.
All she really wanted to do was find a nice rock to lay on. She was not as driven as her father, who liked to better himself every day. She was perfectly happy just being herself, and sticking to it.
She was walking down a river bank and happened to glance up to see another creature nearby. A... tiny lion? No, that wasn't right. What was he? She had not been out long and she was surprised to see something new. She had not really hung out with any other species but her own before. Padding toward it, she kept her body low and tensed just in case it wasn't friendly.
"What are you?" She asked directly.
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:34 pm
Gods above, it was a lion. A lady lion. Tendaji reminded himself that he knew how to defend himself now and not every stranger was a threat. Besides, his dad was a lion and so was his aunt. Touching his bag of good luck charms for reassurance, he padded over to the lady lion. She looked tense - was it because she was dangerous or merely frightened?
Her question caught him by surprise and he nearly laughed out loud. "I'm a leopard," he said, "and my name's Tendaji. You're a lion," he added, just in case she didn't know. After all, back when he was a cub he'd thought he was a lion.
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:54 pm
"A leopard? My father spoke of them once. He said you are small and fast, but dangerous. You have strong legs, because you can climb better than we can. Is that true?"
Her father was a fighter, and he trained her to be the same. Unfortunately, she got more of her Grandfather's traits, which consisted of being lazy and unmotivated to pick fights with others. She would train as she needed to be able to defend herself, but beyond that...
She was not a violent creature, in the least.
Sitting down, she swished her tail behind him and watched her with wide, curious eyes. "I know I'm a lion. I didn't ask you what I am!" She laughed though, and didn't sound offended. "though it might be fun to be a leopard!"
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 1:12 pm
Tendaji felt his chest swell with pride at the lioness' description of leopards. He'd always admired lions, even thinking more highly of them than his own kind. After all, they had great big fluffy manes! Even his leopon half-siblings had manes. "I have not done much climbing," he admitted, "since my father is a lion and not a leopard. But I've encountered leopards who spend most of their lives in trees and they have very strong legs."
He relaxed as she sat down. She looked much less threatening that way. Dare he think of her as pretty? He smiled shyly and sat down too. "It's easy to dream of being another species, but it's better to be your own self. Would you like to hear a story?" he asked eagerly, "It's about a lion who turned into a leopard, but got stuck."
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 1:35 pm
Her father always taught her the key facts about what could be enemies. She just took them as facts to keep in the back of her mind but not for battles.
Stretching languidly, she yawned and shook her fur out, gripping her paws and digging her nails into the earth.
It had not been a good night.
"You don't like to climb? We should climb some time. I have not climbed much either, really, because I like to... walk. And I don't have much reason to go in to trees. Though I guess you can climb rocks too."
She chuckled and shook the thoughts away. She was getting off topic in her own head. Which was odd.
"Your father is a lion? Whoa. Whoa. Let's go back. Your father is a lion but you are a leopard? How did that work? Oh! I like stories! If you want to tell me one. I don't think I have any good ones to tell back though."
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:52 pm
Tendaji eyed the lioness skeptically. Everyone knew lions weren't built right for climbing, they just didn't belong in trees. But far be it from him to discourage someone from doing something that made them happy. "We’d have to find the right tree,” he said.
“Ah… that’s a bit complicated,” he admitted. “Abrafo isn’t my father by blood, but he’s the one who raised me. My birth father is a stranger, undeserving of the name. Abrafo’s the one who was there for me.”
He smiled. "If you like stories, I'll always be happy to tell you one. This one starts, uh." He paused, trying to think of how the story should go. "Once there was a lion who wished he was a leopard. One day he caught a gazelle and the gazelle said 'Spare me and I will grant three wishes.' The lion didn't know whether or not to believe the gazelle so he said 'Turn me into a leopard and I will spare your life.' The gazelle was secretly a god, so he turned the lion into a leopard right then and there. And the lion-leopard let the gazelle go."
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:04 pm
"I can understand that," she said, as he explained his family to her. She realized she should not have been so abrupt about it, and maybe been a little more respectful of his private life being private.
She hadn't meant to pry his history out of him, and she wondered if the subject was a sensitive one. Not knowing one's birth father had to be rough. She knew hers, of course, and though she often grumped about all his lessons, she appreciated him being there for her when she was young.
Without him, she would be in a pretty bad place now. Maybe dead or at least starving and being constantly attacked by enemies she did not know how to recognize or fight back against.
She listened with interest to the story, a little skeptical, but she was glad for it. She laughed and nodded her head.
"Would you want to be turned into a different animal if you could?" she asked, tilting her head.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 4:17 pm
Tendaji didn't mind talking about his family. Saying "my father is a lion" when he himself was a leopard was bound to cause confusion, and he owed the female an explanation.
"Ah," he said, slightly embarrassed. "When I was very young I thought I was a lion, just like my father. And for a very long time after I found out I was a leopard, I wished I was a lion. With a great big mane! But what about you?" he asked. "Have you ever wished you were a different animal?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 12:38 am
"I didn't know there were very many other animals out there, really. My dad taught me everything but we lived in a kind of out of the way patch of grass. I mean, I never saw anything, except birds. But I did want to fly, like them. I guess I would have wanted to be a bird."
Though really, she had just wanted to fly. Maybe just sprout wings and fly away.
Not that she had anywhere to go.
She smiled and tilted her head.
"You would look funny, I think, with a big mane. No, I think you're perfect the way you are, as a leopard. We might have had to fight if you were a lion, and I just wandered through. I'm glad you were something I didn't know, because we get to talk now!" She laughed, thinking the logic easy enough to understand.
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 8:30 pm
"I wanted to fly too! Like a bird or a butterfly or just myself. To see the whole world from up above would be magical."
The lioness' talk of fighting made Tendaji uncomfortable, but it didn't sound like it was something she wanted to do then and there. Besides, she showed a greater acceptance of his leopard blood than he himself possessed. Praise coming from a lion, particularly a stranger, filled him with an easy warmth. "I think you're perfect too," he said, suppressing a blush. She was awfully pretty. "I'm really glad we can talk. I don't think I introduced myself - my name's Tendaji. It's an honor to meet you." He gave a small bow, keeping an eye on the lioness while he did so.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:12 am
She smiled brightly at him, finding him sweet in his slightly awkward way. It turned out she really liked leopards, and she had not known that until she met him. So how could she not be happy in that?
Plus, as a creature regardless of type, he was a nice guy.
"My name is Fushgibana. Uhm. Most just call me Bana for short, because it's... a lot easier."
She laughed at that, and shook her head. She and her brother had similar names as their father. Her dad was Fushigisou, and her brother Fushigidane. She did not know the meanings behind them, but there was something cool in having similar names.
It made her feel like she would always have her family, even if she never saw any of them again. She had started her life, after all, and there was no going back. But if everyone out here was as nice as Tendaji, she felt she would be okay.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 12:52 pm
"Fushigibana," Tendaji repeated carefully. "It's a nice name, very pretty. Just Bana is nice too."
Despite his initial alarm at encountering a strange lion, Tendaji found that Fushigibana wasn't half as scary as he'd expected. The vague optimism he'd felt when he first set out from home settled into certainty: this would be a good day. Bana was pretty and more importantly she was friendly. She even shared his dreams of flight.
"Would you like to find a tree to climb? I know a good one that stretches over the river. I didn't climb much when I was younger, which is a shame because it's the closest I've ever gotten to flying."
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:01 pm
"I would! It can't be as hard as it looks, right? Well, for a lion I mean. We've got big muscles and thick claws, I'm sure I can climb." She grinned confidently. Maybe she would not be as graceful and pretty about it as leopards were supposed to be, but she could do it.
Definitely.
Plus, being near the river would probably give her a bit of a safety net, falling into water was easier on a body than the hard ground. She chuckled as she began to bounce off, picking a direction and assuming it was the right one. She stopped, though, looking back at Tendaji.
"Come on!" She could easily spend her day like this. she had nothing better planned, and making a friend seemed like a good use of her time.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:42 pm
Tendaji scrambled to his feet and bounded ahead of Bana. "This way," he said, flashing a grin at her as he ran past.
The tree he had chosen wasn't very far away. It leaned heavily, making it easy to climb, but was firmly rooted. Tendaji had his doubts about whether or not a lion could climb, but he didn't want to disappoint Bana. He wanted to show her what it was like to fly.
"Use your claws and go slow," he explained. "The most important thing to do is to stay balanced. Er. You can swim, right? Just in case."
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