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 Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 1:22 pm
So as the last of the color faded from the sky, assured that all had been put back into proper place after the departure of Ru's band days ago, he opted to take a walk beneath the emerging stars. There was a faint n** in the air, so he swung a pelt around his shoulders, securing it with a nifty bit of metal that seemed well-suited for the purpose. More than just the hide weighed upon his shoulders as he set off beneath the glittering dome of dusky sky. Perhaps this was why he didn't notice that there was a stranger in his territory, and that said stranger was heading directly for him as he slipped out of sight of the outpost.
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Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 1:33 pm
 It had taken Sciuri a long time to convince herself to actually approach someone in the group she had been watching for more than a month. She had actually left the area for about a week to consult with her mother and father. They weren't pridal lions, but she wasn't sure that this group of lions was really a pride anyway, so their advice was still welcome. If nothing else, they had lived longer and had more experience of the world.
Now that she had returned, she had noticed some changes in the group. There were fewer of them, and the family of hyenas seemed to have vanished completely. She wondered what had happened there. It irked her to have missed that. She had been making up stories about the group since she first came across them, and now there was this gaping hole that she would have to fill. She wasn't upset about that, per se, but she was still irritated to have missed what was probably the most exciting thing to happen to the group since she started watching them.
When she saw the lion she had pegged as the group's leader walking alone at twilight she decided the time had come to satisfy her curiosity and introduce herself to him. And try very hard not to mention that she'd been basically spying on him and his people for several weeks and making up stories about them. Because that would be weird.
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 1:09 pm
Home. He wanted to go home. How he envied Ru and his warband! His home was and always would be the pride he'd grown up in, the pride his father had led so well for so long. No more. Would he ever go home? He wouldn't admit to anyone in his band how badly his heart ached to leave the outpost, to be able to return to his rightful place in the pride. He didn't even care to rule in his father's place... it wasn't in him, and he was honest enough to acknowledge that. Besides his own well-being, he also badly wanted to know how his siblings fared. He'd have taken them all with him if they'd wished it, if they'd have let him. He knew some had escaped, but he suspected not all had. To think of them there, looked down on and abused as thralls, heated his blood to the boiling point. And then there was his mother and father. Where were they? Were they alright? But no, these were concerns he couldn't show in front of his warriors. He suspected that Isi might have an inkling about how he felt, but she wisely kept her understanding to herself, and he was privately grateful for her restraint.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden awareness of someone else. He looked up from the ground before him to behold an unfamiliar lioness. Startled but not alarmed, he halted in place, ears pricked and tail held still. What sort of person was she? Was she aware that he had an entire camp of reavers within earshot? Was she a fighter or a slave? Or neither? All these questions flashed through his mind in a moment as he stared at her in surprise. "Uh... hello," he greeted her ineptly, feeling tongue-tied by both his previous thoughts and his jumble of new ones at her appearance. "Who are you?" He kept himself still, giving neither welcome nor threat in his stance just yet. He'd wait and see what she had to say, he decided, before he chose how to react to her.
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 4:41 pm
Sciuri half-turned her head to one side, presenting Hroarr with a three quarter's view of her face. It allowed her to grin on the hidden portion of her face without making it obvious that was what she was doing. Most people mistook the action for an indication of shyness, and Sciuri was content to allow them to do so.
"Good evening," she replied. "I'm not disturbing you, I hope? If you've come out here to have a break from dealing with your...group for a while, I mean. I can understand why you might want to be alone for a time, and I'll leave you be if that's the case."
She tried a smile to stop herself from saying anything else. She was babbling and already displaying a knowledge of him and his band that might make him uncomfortable. It certainly indicated that she knew more about him than he did about her, like she'd been spying on him. Which she had, in a way, but not in a creepy way. Just in a way.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 4:43 pm
His eyes followed her as she turned from him slightly, even flicking the direction she turned towards in case he'd missed something. It seemed an odd motion, especially combined with her rather astonishing speech. He narrowed his eyes faintly at her, his face falling into a firm, stern expression. He couldn't say he was particularly pleased to hear a stranger identify him as a leader of a group, when none of the group was within sight. Exactly who was this lioness, and why hadn't she answered his question yet?
"Again, miss, I ask... who are you?" His tone brooked no funny business this time. He wanted her name, now. He also wanted to know what she was about, but getting one answer at a time seemed most prudent at the moment, considering that she hadn't yet replied to his first question properly. He stood tall and continued to examine her with an intent and suspicious look, unmoved by her supposed shyness. A lioness who snuck about and approached a captain was clearly not suffering from timidity.
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 12:24 pm
Sciuri smiled, then she laughed. It hadn't occurred to her that she hadn't yet answered the most basic question he'd asked her. Oops. She had sort of planned how she would answer this question when it was put to her, coming up with a more interesting history than she actually had, but she discarded the idea and the practiced lies. The lion she was dealing with seemed like he would prefer dealing with someone who was forthright. She could do that. It would not be as interesting, but in the long run it would probably be a better idea.
"I'm Sciuri," she told him. "And I'm afraid I don't know your name."
Of course, the way she said that made it sound like she somehow ought to know his name, despite only having met him a very short time ago. There was really no reason she would be expected to know his name, except that she had been sort of spying on him and his people for a while now, and felt like she knew enough about them that it was strange not to know their names. Instead she knew them by titles she had assigned them based on their behavior or physical traits.
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:05 am
He frowned and shifted the hide he wore with a smooth movement of his shoulders. Something was off here, but he couldn't put his paw on it. A strange female, uncowed before a much larger and fierce looking male (if he did say so himself), with the knowledge that a group of others was at his back... and yet she acted chipper and relaxed, as if they were comrades. His tailtip flicked with his disturbed thoughts. Sciuri, hmm?
"Tell me, Sciuri," he rumbled in a not-quite growl, ignoring her return question, "what are you doing here, in our territory? It seems you know a good deal more about us than I do about you." His hard gaze showed very little willingness to adopt her friendly attitude. What if she wasn't alone? His pupils widened at this idea. What if she had come to wreak some sort of mischief as a precursor to an attack? He stood taller and inhaled deeply, trying to scent any other smells on her or in the air, his alertness rising sharply.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 6:54 am
The lioness feared she wasn't making a very good impression, and she didn't think that he would like what she had to say next. Take-charge people don't often like to learn that they have been observed in secret for long periods of time without detecting the observation. It made them understandably twitchy. At least, that was what she had been told when she went to visit her family, who knew more about living in groups than she did.
"Actually, I've lived here for some time," Sciuri admitted.
She was doing her best not to be intimidated by his rumbling. He was a warrior. She knew that about him for a certainty. But he also exercised control over himself and those under his authority. If she didn't provoke him, she believed she had nothing to fear. She didn't know about his pride's habit of taking thralls.
"I usually try to stay out of the way of your patrols, though a few of them may have picked up my scent once or twice. You'd have to ask them about that." As a thought occurred to her she put it into words: "I'm not going to be a problem for you."
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 7:36 pm
This was not welcome news at all. His jaw flexed and his ears canted back. He suppressed the urge to growl, but only just. He stood and circled her once, examining her closely. She did not have the build of a warrior, nor that of a stealthy genius. He supposed she might be a spy, but what spy pops out of nowhere and admits to spying?! His tail lashed in agitation as his mind turned the problem over and over. She was quite a puzzle. He sat down in front of her again and looked at her hard.
"Why have you been lingering here?" he asked forthrightly, leaning forward just slightly. He didn't mean to loom, but he was still trying to make up his mind how to treat her. Had he been a more callous male, he would have simply overpowered her and taken her as a thrall. Hroarr was not that sort of lion, however, and she stirred an avid curiosity in him. Her next answer should hopefully tell him a good deal about her and her intentions.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 5:29 am
This wasn't quite how Sciuri had hoped things would go down. She had hardly expected to be welcomed with open arms, but somehow she had thought that this would be easier. Perhaps she should have risked it and spent more time listening to what went on in the group, instead of just watching them. She had apparently missed how paranoid and suspicious he was.
"Because you're interesting," she answered, holding her ground even though most of her instincts told her that she was in a situation where she should either be considering the most efficient way to kill him or to escape. "And, on a more practical note, the presence of your group keeps most other rogues away, so I don't have to worry about being bothered by anyone. Except one of your lions, of course."
She didn't know what else to say. Certainly she was not going to admit at this point that she had come up with names and titles for everyone in the group, and made up backstories for them and relationships. Probably she should have just stayed hidden and continued her voyeurism in solitude. Approaching the leader seemed like it had been a terrible mistake.
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Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 11:31 am
He nodded thoughtfully at her reasoning. It made sense, especially considering she was a lone female. Plus she had confessed forthrightly about lingering here, despite his intimidating manner. He knew very well the aura he was putting off, had done so intentionally. He was privately pleased that she neither ran, nor cowered, nor fought. She stood her ground and spoke truthfully, at least as far as he could tell. This could have promise.
He cleared his throat and gave her a stern look, but not one without a faint glimmer of amusement. "As I see it, Sciuri," he began, "you have three choices." His tailtip lashed once, and his pelt slid a little off-center. He shrugged it back with a ripple of his muscled shoulders, still gazing intently at her. "You can agree to leave our lands and not return." His expression remained bland and guarded. "Or you could agree to join us and become part of my warband." His ears and brows gave subtle movements, and though it was hard to say what his feelings on that option were, it was clear he had an opinion on it. "Or you can refuse to leave or join us, which would be most unfortunate." Now his expression darkened, brows lowering and lids dropping halfway across his eyes. "The choice is yours, but you must make it here and now."
Now he waited. He had his suspicions on how she would play this, but he was fully prepared to act on the thinly veiled threat should she choose the third option. He had no compunctions about making her a thrall if she was so foolish as to defy him.
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 6:27 am
Three? Sciuri had only really imagined two choices at this point. She listened intently as the leader outlined her choices as he saw them, wondering what she had missed.
It surprised her that she had been given the option of joining his band. He described it as a warband. She had noticed that they drilled and trained in fighting, but she had not seen much evidence that they were actually at war. She would have to find out more about that. That would, of course, mean staying with the band in one way or another. She knew what the third option meant, having observed the group for some time, so it seemed she was really left with one palatable option. Good thing it was the one she'd wanted to begin with.
"I will join your warband," she said, doing her best to make it sound like she was doing him a favor by making this decision.
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