[PRP] Hello Stranger ("Star" & Fastklump)

[Velveteen Angel]

The usually shy and reclusive female had decided, today, that it was the day she spread her wings a little bit. Her papa was all well and good, but she felt like she was intruding on him and his mate. They were very cute! In a weird...kinda gross...way. She almost missed the pride she had left. Separated from her 'mate' and the other male that she had loved, she felt lost. Until she found her father!

But now, she was feeling awkward and out of place there as well. Surely she would have to find somewhere that she fit in? She huffed a little to herself, wondering why it was always her that didn't fit in. First she had fallen from the sky, not knowing who she was or where she came from, and then she'd found a home which had then fallen apart around her, finally coming home to her papa and she was being driven out of there too!

Why wasn't she loved? She sighed to herself, trudging through the savanna and wishing for something, anything that she could call her own, even for a moment.
 

[Princess_Feylin]

Fast could now understand why his friend Tall had stomped off into the rogue lands when he got angry. It was great to get away from the pride, and just spend some time indulging in good, old-fashioned pillaging.

Unlike Tall, Fast wasn't the sort to head off on his own. He was a reaver, so he was permitted to leave the pride, but smart reavers didn't wander too far afield unless they were part of a band. Otherwise it might be said that they were deserting the pride, which Fast would never do, no matter how angry he was at his father. Fast had asked his friend Tallskog to come along, and the captain had agreed, since he, too, was in a foul mood. Being manly men, neither lion actually talked about what was troubling them, but being irritated in company while enjoying nature helped.

It also helped that Tall could understand when Fast wanted to do a bit of solitary brooding, and didn't force his company on him when Fast stomped off, remembering one of his father's many offenses against him. Thus, Fast was alone when he stomped into the presence of a pale-coated lioness.  

[Velveteen Angel]

The appearance of the male took her by surprise. She had been barely paying attention but his form was rather hard to miss when their paths crossed. She gasped, before steadying herself because really, how could she not expect someone to come along? It was the rogue lands.

Should she say something? She didn't know if he had seen her yet, but she decided to take the plunge. Hopefully he was friendly? She wasn't sure how far she had wandered from her papa, but she was sure she could outrun the male. Her small frame led to her being rather fast moving at least.

"Hello," she blurted out, realising quickly that she had...nothing else to say. Awwwkward.

Princess Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Absorbed in his own angst as he had been, Fast hadn't actually noticed the lioness until suddenly he did, his attention ripped away from endless examination of his father's failings by the lioness's soft gasp. Nothing captures a distracted lion's attention like a gasp.

He watched the lioness, noting immediately that she was attractive and didn't smell like other men because he was a guy and those were the sorts of things he tended to notice first about new lionesses. Fast really had a weakness for lionesses with lighter colored coats, to which his crush on Vitania had been a notable exception.

The awkward salutation made him smile. It reminded him exactly of how he might have greeted her if she hadn't said it first. And then he experienced a moment of panic in which he couldn't come up with anything else to say, now that she had taken "hello." Dammit. Why'd she had to take that one. It was a really good greeting for a rogue.

"It's a good day to die," he offered, falling back on a traditional pride greeting that was at least less aggressive than the not-so-veiled threat implied by the other greeting: One day I will kill you. He hastened to add, "It's just a saying in my pride. It means hello. More or less."  

[Velveteen Angel]

Her eyes went wide, wider than they had been before, at his greeting and she shied backwards immediately. She had made a mistake! He was going to attack her! Oh damn it...she had the worst luck with making friends! She was so caught up in her internal panic that she almost missed his clarification.

At his explanation, she relaxed slightly, but kept a wary eye on him none the less. "Your pride sounds quite aggressive," she said lightly, trying hard to hide the quiver in her voice. Star was not a fighter. She was barely self-sufficient at this point. If he chose to attack, she had no doubt in her mind that she would be dead in an instant, and considering his pride was aggressive, she doubted she could outrun him either.

She had to stop trying to make friends. It really was going to kill her one day.

Princess Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

"We are," he agreed with no small amount of pride, though he also smiled.

He had been more amused by her wide-eyed reaction to his greeting than was probably nice, but he had been raised in the Stormborn. Making weaker people uncomfortable was almost like a sport. And, yes, Fast had quickly reached the decision that the strange lioness was weaker than he was. First off, she was a lioness and they just tended to be weaker in general because they were physically smaller. Secondly, she looked much too alarmed by his greeting to be someone who was comfortable being violent.

"If I had found you with other reavers, you might actually have to worry, but you're safe enough from me. Taking thralls is hard work when you're on your own." He wasn't sure how much of that she would understand, given the pride-specific terms he'd used, but he hoped she would at least realize he meant her no harm.

"What's your name?" he asked, hoping to change the subject to something she might find less distressing.

Velveteen Angel

 

[Velveteen Angel]

She cringed a little at his blunt answer, and was that a smile on his face? Why was he happy about his pride being aggressive? Oh, he was going to kill her. He was a monster...she was going to die. However, his comment of her being safe with him was...confusing. Was he lying to her? Oh she just didn't understand all these weird people!

"Thrall?" she asked, but her tone implied that she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know what that term meant. Was it like 'meal'?

She hesitated as he inquired her name - but what harm would come from him knowing her name? It was only her given one, as she herself had no idea of her actual name.

"Star," she said quietly. "My name is Star." She eyed him curiously, before returning the courtesy. "And you are?"

Princess Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Fast watched with interest as a variety of expressions flickered across the pretty lioness's face. Each one of them was more intriguing than the last because it was on that face. Her face. The young reaver was well on his way to being smitten with a complete stranger. Like father, like son, apparently.

"Star. That name suits you," he said, doing his best to be suave.

He had decided not to explain about thralls or anything like that. Nothing she would consider awful or unappealing or intimidating. He didn't want her to think he was any of those things, unless she liked those things. But he really didn't get the impression that she did.

"People call me Fast," he answered her, grinning wryly.

Like thralldom, Fast didn't think it would do him any good to explain that people also called him Fastklump, which meant "immovable lump," and that in his youth he had been named Yollalunta, which was "night snow." They were both kind of stupid, as far as names went, but at least Fastklump came with an okay nickname.

"Is this where you live?" He probably could have come up with something more clever to say, but his tongue and his brain weren't really communicating. Star was lucky the words had come out in the correct order and conjugation.

Velveteen Angel

Sorry it took me so long to tag you. I...kind of forgot about this RP. sweatdrop

 

[Velveteen Angel]

She smiled at his compliment of her name, shy but pleased at his words. She had been given her name by her 'parents' and she loved them dearly, so her name was a constant reminder of them.

She grinned at his name. "Fast? I like it, does that suit you?" She asked, bouncing on her paws slightly. She was feeling slightly more relaxed around him now that he seemed less likely that he was going to kill her. Unless he was lulling her into a false sense of security...Hm, that was always a possibility.

"No," she shook her head with a slight frown. "I guess I don't live...anywhere. My pride disbanded and I got separated from my...mate...former mate, now I guess." She frowned. She had never been in love with her mate, and so losing him was not 'sad' necessarily, but the loss of security - the loss of safety - was what concerned her now. She was alone.

Princess Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

It took Fast a moment to figure out what was being asked of him, as far as whether his name suited him. In fact, the first thing he said, before his brain managed to get a word in, was, "I don't mind it."

Once his brain engaged and he made all the proper connections he elaborated, "I suppose it suits me, in a way. But less in the sense of being speedy. More like being fast or fixed. Um. Like steadfast or loyal? A fast friend?"

He had not made any of those connections until that exact moment, at which point he decided he rather liked the nickname Fast a great deal, and that he would be more insistent in the future about having people refer to him that way. It wasn't a bad thing at all to be steadfast and loyal.

Star's next words brought up all kinds of conflicts in Fast. Because he was pretty much thrilled that she didn't have a mate, but he was equally disappointed that she had once had one, and that she seemed less than pleased about the loss. He didn't want to have to compete for her affections with a lion who existed only in her memory, for practical purposes, but who was actually alive and could put in a ruinous appearance in theory.

"I'm sorry to hear about your pride," he said, deciding to play it safe and just not touch the matter of her former mate. "It's probably pretty different living in the rogue lands after that."

Velveteen Angel

Wow. I am such a horrible flake. I'm sorry.

 

[Velveteen Angel]

She appreciated him elaborating on his answer, she wasn't used to making conversation with strangers, so it was nice to have him trying to keep the conversation flowing as well. Else it would just be her making awkward one-sided chats, which had happened before.

"They are very good qualities to have," she remarked with a gentle smile. She was cautious of him still, but his attitude and his comments of loyalty had soothed her nerves more.

She sighed at the comment of prides though. "It's weird," she admitted. "I have been staying with my father, but he has a mate now, and it's all...well, it's all awkward if you know what I mean?" She frowned. "I mean, his mate is lovely but their building a little life together and I'm just there." She shook her head. "Sorry, that was probably way too much detail for you!" she laughed sheepishly.

Princess Feylin

So sorry that I took so long!

 

[Princess_Feylin]

"Well, I'm not sure I really have all those qualities," he admitted. "But I try to, you know?"

As angry as he was at his father, Fast couldn't help wondering how Galning had learned to talk to people so easily. It didn't seem easy at all to Fast, who had been a sensitive cub, and easy to talk to but still unsure about speaking up himself. Growing up had not really eased his discomfort, particularly not when talking to gorgeous lionesses like Star.

"I absolutely know what you mean," Fast said feelingly. Their situations seemed remarkably similar. "My father is basically doing the same thing right now. It's...a little frustrating, really. He didn't even known I existed when I was born, then he came and took me from my mother and brought me back to his pride, and then he turned around and left to go on a quest he knew perfectly well he might not come back from. When he did come back, he got together with one of the lionesses in the pride right away. I don't even know why he wanted me with him to begin with."

He shook his head and grinned ruefully. "Now who's going into too much detail?"

Velveteen Angel

No worries. Clearly I am a terribly slow tagger anyway.

 

[Velveteen Angel]

Star blinked in surprise as burst into a, completely justified, mini rant about his father. Wow, their situations were incredibly similar, she mused to herself as she listened to him talk. She offered him a gentle smile when he stopped, appearing rueful.

"I like the details," she assured him. "Parents are odd," she mused, for the first time in a while stopping to wonder where her cubs had gotten to. She felt a pang deep in her chest, because she had lost them (and her mate) when the pride had collapsed. She had only found her father because of luck. They were all adults now though, so she was sure they would be alright...or at least, she hoped that they would be. She wasn't sure what she would do if she found out they weren't; it might just break her heart.

"Do you like your pride?" She asked, curious. "Your father brought you back there, but do you have to stay if you didn't like it?"

Princess Feylin

I am too! 8'D

 

[Princess_Feylin]

"That they are. I'm lucky that the rest of my family is better. I have a lot of family in the pride," he added this last with a sheepish expression, as though having a large family was something to be ashamed of, although he couldn't think why it would be.

"Well, I have friends in the pride, and it's gotten to be home at this point," he answered Star. "I guess I like it. I haven't really given it much thought since I was a cub, actually. But it's a good place."

He probably wasn't doing very well at making the Stormborn sound like a good place to live, but it really was, for a freeborn lion. Thralls didn't have such a fantastic lot, but he wasn't a thrall and he didn't really know any thralls, so he really didn't give a lot of thought to their lot.

"Um." He lapsed into silence, wanting to continue their conversation but at a loss for words. It wasn't as if he could just invite her home to keep talking or something.

"I should probably let you get back to, er, your plans. But I am genuinely glad I met you, Star." Awkwardly, he didn't know what her plans were, or what she had actually been doing when he stomped into her life. Should he say that he'd like to see her again? How would that even work? Argh!

Velveteen Angel

Woo! A tag!

 

[Velveteen Angel]

She smiled. "it's great that you have family there! It's always good to be surrounded by them, especially if you need help at any point." She had never quite felt that way in the Ukuucha, simply because she hadn't felt like she could go to them for help, not truly. She was actually rather jealous of him, he had friends and family. She had her father, but she had lost her cubs, lost her mate, lost the love of her life...she had lost everything.

She was surprised at his comment to leave, but she acknowledged that she was probably due to return to her father. He would be getting worried. "I suppose I should go home; my father will worry." She was glad that she had met Fast though.

"I am glad to meet you too," she returned with a soft smile. "Do you think we will meet again some time?" She asked, rather hopefully. It was kind of sad, because he had become a friend. Her only friend at the moment...

Princess Feylin

Woot, didn't take me two months this time!