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 Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 10:19 pm
These lands were so different from what she was used to but that was good. It meant a new experience she could tell her mother if she saw her again or even her father if she ever met him. She sat perched, proud and tall, on one of the rocks that surround Pride Rock. It was an amazing sight, seeing the stars above her and the herds settling down the for night. Even the partially full moon above was a beautiful sight. There was the sound of crickets chirping and lizards scurrying on the ground as well. Her toes flexed against the cold stone beneath then, letting her claws rake against it for a moment to keep them trimmed to a point.
Her eyes darted over every movement while her tail came up to curl around her side. The young lioness, barely into her adult body, was trying to take in every sight so she could retell it to Chiku later. She knew how bored the other lioness could get so at least hearing about everything was better then complete silence.
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Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 11:27 am
The King enjoyed his slow, slow stroll, knowing that he had to keep his other legs strong to make up for the lack of the fourth. A weak king would turn into a feeble-minded one, and he knew that the Pridelands did not need that. Not when there were other troubles to worry about.
His plan of having a grandson of his become the heir did not go over well. He knew it was because Tau's mother was unknown to the entirety of the pride, and Simi himself had never met her. Regardless, he trusted his son's word, and though the messages between the prides was slow going, there was still an active communication line. That meant that Empress Ari was honest in her dealings, if nothing else.
Tau had come as soon as he had been weaned, but with the addition of a Tianxian tutor, the cub's education was extremely conflicted. The cultures of Pridelands and Tianxia were not the same, and Tau was confronting these conflicts more the older he got. He was beginning to think on his own, and because of that, he was full of fear. Tau knew that there was much doubt and distrust on his shoulders, and the little pride didn't know where to start.
"Ah, you're younger than me," he said as he turned to look behind. "You shouldn't be moving slower than I am," Simi said with a laugh.
Tau was starting to spend less time with his Tianxian tutor and more time with his Grandfather. For how prim and proper his parents were, Grandfather Simi was the opposite. A lack of barrier between the royals and commoners, no social structure beyond a few heads of some jobs, and anyone could approach him for anything. It was so weird, and intriguing. Tau always wondered if he could grow to be as opening and patient as the king was.
"Just...be careful. I don't know if I can right you if you fall over, oh graceful king," he grumbled before chuckling a bit.
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Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 3:52 pm
She was new to the pride but even she knew by the looks a few of the straggling lions who just heading to their dens from the final hunt of the night (which looked like it had ended in failure) that the two lions with golden pelts and red manes were important. How important? Lelya didn't know that much. She had only met a few other Pridelanders, one strang male that was going to help them hunt eventually and another who was the reason they were even alive and in the Pridelands to begin with.
Still, she couldn't help be curious. Why would two lions, one still growing by the look of his small mane, be going out for a walk at this hour? Then again, why was she out there? It's not like she could really criticize anyone. Sure it seemed odd but the entire pride was so odd to her. So many new customs and traditions to learn. Like what in the world was the..Circle of Life? It was a string of words that had been uttered around her frequently but something she still did not firmly grasp.
They kept moving, the older one was obviously having problems by how little one of his legs moved. Was she supposed to approach them? Help them, maybe? Was that the right thing to do in the Pridelands?! Lelya's nerves began to fray as she sat on her rock fretting. Slowly she sunk down onto it, placing her paws over her face. Maybe she would be dark enough that they wouldn't see her or just go on by.
'Why am I so nervous? This is such an open and friendly pride, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I talked to them...' Her mind was beginning to try and rationalize getting up and approaching two strange lions she hadn't seen yet in the middle of the night; wonderful. All of the others she had met had been during the day when there were a bunch of other lions around. They had also been the one to approach her which might have been why she had been okay in those chats.
Chiku would have known. Even though Lelya always acted so proud and proper, she looked to her friend for support almost constantly to try and keep up appearances. She wasn't as brave as she wanted herself to be nor was she as smart. She hadn't paid much attention to any history that been taught to her. The only reason she knew the direction to the Pridelands had been because she traded a few bites of a zebra she had stolen from some vultures to a hyena. Still, Chiku seemed to think she was some kind of genius princess or something, something Lelya wished she was sometimes. Maybe then she wouldn't be cowering on a rock in the middle of the night.
Both ears swiveled and turned back while her tail flicked wildly behind her. "Why couldn't I have just gone home instead..." Lelya groaned into the night as the reality of being in a new pride was finally beginning to sink in.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 9:44 am
The pair continued to make their way, slowly, downwards. Tau guessed that once they hit some point, Simi would eventually agree to turn around and return back to the safety of the royal den. It would be warm (hopefully), and perhaps a couple old zebra skins would be ready for Simi to relax on. Tau sometimes felt like the adult, like in this situation. Ugh.
"Grandfather, should we-"
"Look, Tau."
Simi had noticed the lioness. Though his leg was nearly useless, and he was a little odd in his night-time walks, his eyes and ears still worked extremely well. Her shifting and grumble to herself didn't escape him, though he couldn't completely decipher what she had said. Regardless, Simi never was shy about greeting anyone he came across. He knew that they were slowly getting closer to her, and she didn't quite seem like the type to just bolt.
Tau, on the other paw, had a lot to learn about observing his surroundings. He had been completely ignorant of the lioness, his attention still drawn on the care of his foolish grandfather.
"Huh? ...oh." Well. Luckily the Pridelands never had to deal with dangers from other prides, but he really needed to be more careful about his surroundings. Especially because he wasn't the most popular royal at the moment.
"Don't mind us," Simi said out to the lioness. "Just an old lion dragging his grandson out for a walk," he said with a hearty laugh.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 10:05 am
"I hope I didn't bother you." Lelya called back to the much larger and older lion.
Well crap, there went any hope of going unnoticed. Okay Lelya, time to be braver then normal. She was an outsider in the Pridelands, new by only a week or two. She didn't know their customs, maybe it was some ritual she was disturbing right now. It didn't seem like it, given how cheerful the other seemed to be and how casual he mentioned just going for a walk.
His laughter put her mind at ease though, enough that she removed her paws from her face and her tail fell mostly still.
She must have looked so silly compared to anyone else out there that evening. Somewhere in her mind she knew she'd probably be laughed at by another huntress in the morning for how she acted tonight. There was no reason to be nervous, was there? "It is a lovely night for a walk, isn't it?" The lioness hadn't gotten up but at least she had replied with something a little less...stupid sounding.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 4:27 pm
Tau remained silent, not certain on how to act. He knew that he had to stay where he was with his grandfather, but the crown prince wasn't sure himself on how to act with strangers. He let his grandfather take the lead on this, knowing that he'd be a bit teased for it later. It would be easier to handle than trying to awkwardly force words out of his mouth.
Simi was a bit disappointed that Tau didn't jump up to speak, but he didn't want to place too much pressure on the youngster. "No, not a bother at all," Simi replied with what he hoped was a reassuring nod. They were still gaining growd towards her, and by the time she seemed to have relaxed they drew comfortably close to her. No more yelling.
"Its a beautiful walk," Simi agreed, glancing over towards Tau.
Tau felt a bit flustered by this whole situation, since all he really wanted to do was sleep. Was it that the older you got, the less you slept? How the heck was Grandfather going to be able to greet the morning sun and hear the morning report?
"Ah, y-yes," he replied cautiously. "Its not too cool, at least, and the moon is bright enough to see well." He felt like his words were foolish, but he wasn't used to making small talk, either. He didn't realize that these easy interactions that Simi placed him in were another form of lessons.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 4:55 pm
It really was an ideal night for a walk now that they mentioned it. She knew it was a good night, a beautiful and somewhat noisy night (what with the bugs and other smaller predators around) but it was just sinking in how nice it really was.
"I hope I'm not holding you up with some silly small talk. I'm not exactly good at it either." Lelya replied with a sort of nervous smile. "If you don't mind, could I join you? I haven't met many other Pridelanders yet and I don't think I've seen either of you two around. It'd be nice to know a few more faces here." Hopefully that wasn't too brass to just outright ask to join a grandfather's walk with his grandson, still it was worth a shop. Either they'd leave, say no or say yes. Either way there wasn't all that much to lose by asking; she didn't even know them yet after all.
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Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 6:27 pm
Simi seemed amused at the turn of events, but also very pleased. He realxed his neck, his mane puffing up around his face to reflect his comfort. "An extra set of paws to walk with is never a bad thing. Now Tau can stop worrying about both sides and just focus on the side he's walking with."
Tau flushed, a little embarrassed that his grandfather was pointing out the fact that he couldn't do everything to catch his grandfather should he trip. "Y-yes, a good thing." He wanted to snip back at Simi, to give him a little subtle sass for how he seemed pleased with more company...but Tau couldn't think of anything that didn't sound too mean. "Just be careful where you're going, Grandfather."
Simi laughed. "My grandson is a bit too worried about me, don't mind him. I always enjoy meeting everyone I can. I am Simi, and this is my grandson Tau."
Tau peered over, finally moving enough so he could properly nod to the lioness as was polite for him. He was learning to not sneer at everyone, to treat them as if they were all friends regardless of how long he had known them. It was hard, and it made casual friendships seem all the more superficial.
"Yes, it is...nice to meet you," he finally said. "Grandfather's walk is pretty steady, if slow, regardless of what he implies. I just worry that one day he will actually slip and I'll be in deep trouble." With an exasperated sigh, Tau shook his head.
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