[PRP] Idle afternoon

[wooga Paes]

The lack of responsibility meant kids sometimes had to find rather creative ways to entertain themselves. Unfortunately for Shwari, she wasn't always very good at thinking up anything. She was the sort of kid who loved it when someone else came up with something to do, and found herself quite at a loss when left to her own devices.

As such, her solution for now was walking around, within the limits of what her mother allowed her. Shwari was sort of just hoping something interesting for her to do would pop up, or maybe even someone she could just chat with!  

[Andranis]

It had been a while since they'd settled on the mountain. Those that had been injured during the fire had found a difficult time climbing, but once they got to a good point to settle, they found it much easier to live with their injuries than in the swamps. Pata'chasi wandered one of the mountain paths, her coat almost looking like stones in the snow as she moved, while she looked for something to do. Which was about the point she spotted... A cub. "Well good afternoon, Shwari!" She walked over, only a slight limp in her step now.  

[wooga Paes]

Shwari was a polite, friendly enough cub. Like most kids, though, she wasn't always very interested in spending time with the random adult. But times were tough as far as distractions went, and Pata'chasi was always very nice!

She idly noticed the limp as the lioness approached. It was getting better, she thought. Shwari wasn't always very observant. Unlike many others, Shwari had been born to these mountains, and sometimes had a bit of difficulty in understanding the others' nostalgia for the swamp. But she did always try to be empathetic! She was still young, and would probably understand someday.

"Hello Pata'chasi!" She greeted the lioness cheerfully. "How're you today?"  

[Andranis]

The lioness found a spot to sit down, lifting her scarred left paw up a bit. "Oh, I'm doing well." She waved her paw. "I think my leg is getting better." She looked at it, then to the cub, smiling. "You know, I envy your generation some times, Shwari... You didn't have to deal with the fire that destroyed our old home." She flexed her paw and arm, making sure the joint didn't get stiff. "Ah, to be a cub again..." Sometimes she wished, indeed, that she had been a cub picked up during the migration from the charred remains of the swamp to the mountain. None had been found, of course, but such a cub would have adapted very fast. "What about you, Shwari? What have you been up to?" If she remembered being a cub right, probably bored out of her little skull!  

[wooga Paes]

She glanced at the paw, but tried not to stare. She remembered being reprimanded once by... someone, for staring at folk's scars. Even if Pata'chasi wasn't exactly trying to hide the scars, waving her paw around like that! "That's good to hear. Does it still hurt much?" She asked idly.

When Pata'chasi brought up the swamp, Shwari sort of already knew what was the sort of thing folks said. So she nodded and smiled pleasantly. Then, deciding to try to be a little humorous, grinned. "Yeah, life's easy. Being a cub is great!" She said, though she really didn't think being a grown-up wa sprobably all that bad, either.

"I haven't been up to much. Just wlaking."  

[Andranis]

"Oh, it still hurts now and the, mostly when I walk..." She held the leg up, really staring at it. "I'm just happy I didn't get some of the more horrific scarring, really.." She was sure the cub had seen it.

Pata eyed the cub, a smile coming to her maw as the memories melted away back to the back of her mind. "What, not out causing trouble? I liked doing that when I was your age..." At least one of her own children did that, too. Midna was always causing problems, it seemed... Like teasing a crocodile. She suppressed the urge to shudder at that one. Pata had now found another advantage to living on the mountain, there were no crocodiles for cubs to tease and risk getting eaten by.  

[wooga Paes]

She nodded, trying her very best not to remember some of the worse scars she had seen. She failed spectacularly at it, truthfully. Fortunately some other topic appeared to take her mind off it.

Truth be told, Shwari was actually a pretty well behaved kid. The suggestion that she should be causing trouble was... interesting. See, some good-mannered kids might be mortified at the idea of being naughty. Strangely enough, now that it was brought to her attention, Shwari wondered if misbehaving every now and then might be a solution to her problems!

"You did? What sorts of things did you do?" She asked, innocently.  

[Andranis]

She lay down, crossing her gray paw over her white paw. "Oh, this and that... I was chasing a frog one night when I got lost in the swamp... My father found me, brought me home... Warned me that I should be careful. I'd found the swamp at a rather dangerous time, there was a bad lion running around killing others! He didn't want to see such a young cub hurt. Taught me how to swim, since there was just.. So much water EVERYWHERE! And then I used that to my advantage by pretending to be crocodiles right under some of the older lions when they were on things like banks and logs!" She giggled, a bit to herself. "So many of them were mad at me for it!" Pata looked around. "I don't think you could really do that kind of thing here, though... Mmmm... But little pranks... They're a good sort of mischief, so long as nobody gets more than a bruise."  

[wooga Paes]

Shwari listened with interest, and tried to keep herself from looking way too excited. Scaring people by making them think you're a crocodile! That sounded great!

But there was a little problem. Shwari had never even seen a crocodile. She couldn't keep herself from frowning a bit at the realization that whatever pranks Pata pulled when she was young, they simply wouldn't do in this mountainous environment! Curses, she'd have to find her own ways to manage mischief. Ugh, Shwari hated planning things herself!

"I guess I'll just have to find another way." She said, thoughtfully, as she glanced around. Hmph, what sort of trouble could she get into on a mountain?  

[Andranis]

Pata was thinking just the same thing. What COULD a little cub get up to that wasn't too dangerous on a mountain? Her tail flicked as she looked around, thinking to herself... And then she smiled. "Well, it's no crocodile, but you can make lions think there's a monster in one of the uninhabited caves..!" She motioned with her gray paw. "Hide behind a rock of sufficient size, and then when someone walks by, call into the cave, 'Who dares pass by my cave?!' in a DEEP scary voice!" She was almost tempted to do that herself, now! Especially to Paa'ndani. Such a big tough lion, SURELY he'd make the most delightful scream of terror!  

[wooga Paes]

Hmmmmmmm. Well, those proposals did sound very interesting! Shwari tapped her chin thoughtfully with a paw, making a show of seriously considering her options. Really, she was already sold. She was already contemplating which friends and family members she could give a nice little scare. Ideally ones that wouldn't reprimand her too roughly afterwards!

"But what if I can't make a scary enough noise?" She frowned. Shwari was forced to recognize that, try as she might, her voice was just not scary. "Maybe I should practice doing scary voices first." Which was still an activity, at least.  

[Andranis]

She chuckled, listening to the cub. "Oh, you can find a way... Find a log or something that can amplify your voice, and position it to echo into the cave! Or..." She rubbed her chin, thinking. "There's always the classic of just sneaking up behind lions and yelling 'boo' as loud as you can!" Actually, now SHE wanted to do it... Pata rose to her paws, stretching. "In fact..." Mirth and mischief glimmered in her eyes. "I think I'm going to go do that now! Paa'ndani should scream NICELY!" She ruffled Shwari's hair. "You have fun, now, Shwari, and remember... If someone gets more than a little bruise, the joke went too far." With a flick of her tail, she went padding along, occasionally limping.