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 Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 8:57 am
Wordcount: 1,085
It felt good to be trusted with something so precious, though she knew Kabiro had no choice in the matter. He owed Amira a favor and she'd finally come to collect it. He was to watch three of her adolescent offspring while she paid So an overdue visit. Bless her heart, the first thing she'd said was Talis was welcomed to help keep them company. Talis had refused.
Ava didn't ask why. She had her suspicions, all on the matter of former royalty and broken promises. Kabiro didn't look up for explanation when he asked her to accompany the had-been princess on her hunting expedition. "Of course," Ava had said, and now here they were. Mid-day, amiable weather, and no one to pester them.
So far, so good.
"I'm going to go get some water. I'll be back shortly. Come find me if you get thirsty."
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:13 am
Maybe it was wrong of her to be so embittered. If not for the forgiveness and charity of her friends, old and new, she would have died some months ago in the rogue lands. Yet the severity and frequency of her visions was diminishing by the day, which presented her with the possibility that, finally, she would be... be normal. Be free.
That taste of independence she clung to like a lifeline, safeguarded it to the point of paranoia. Things others did for her started to feel like things they were doing to her. She felt herself a prisoner and a burden.
You're being unfair. Talis watched Ava disappear in the undisturbed patch of grass and took a deep, long breath. She trusts me to take care of myself or she wouldn't leave.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:32 am
The day was going to be a boring one.
Hari meandered over broken, crushed grass, to the rock that protruded higher than two lions from the ground, the stone a dark, burnished color that had long been eroding near the bottom. A reduced scale replica of Priderock, it would appear. He had once debated with Yue over whether or not a God had wanted to make two, but decided half way through his task that one was plenty, since they only had one king.
The scent of warthogs clung to everything, so strong it made him slaver. He had missed opportunity to hunt something within his range of capability for a precious post-nap nap. "They'll be gone if you don't get up," his mother had cautioned. Hari, as was usually the case, didn't heed her words until the truth of them was right before his eyes. His stomach grumbled and groaned, complaining more effectively than his mother could ever hope to.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:40 am
Talis.
Talis was accustomed to the sound of a famished appetite. Her flesh and fur still pulled taut over a rib or two when she stretched. Kabiro often traced them with his paw and grimaced. I should have gone with him, she thought. No, he's fine without me. We need some time apart.
She'd been content to stay beneath the rock, in the shade. The noise came from above, and from this angle she could see only the toes of two white paws from over the edge.
"Hello?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:50 am
Hari.
Hari's penchant for older lionesses hadn't exactly been sated. Fefe had refused him, ignored him, laughed at him. The others he'd propositioned hadn't yielded any satisfactory results either. This one he hadn't seen until today, when he leaned forward at a precarious slant to have a look at her.
"And hello to you," he replied, the flirtatious edge discernible as the sun was in the sky.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:59 am
Talis.
She'd heard, of all things, imitation was the sincerest form of flattery. It wasn't. Flattery was the sincerest form of flattery, even if it were fulsome. She watched this handsome lion with an uplifted expression, smiling for the first time in days, and exalted eyes, alight with amusement. Had she known who he was, she'd have never indulged his coquetry. The Prideland's roster was in a constant state of change, always with more coming than going. How was she to know?
On all four paws, she backed away from the rock. "If you're looking for the warthogs, they already left."
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:05 am
Hari.
"I can see that." Anyone less attractive and he'd have been a*****e about it rather than grinning and making it sound like a playful observation. Looks were definitely not a shortcoming of hers. With her in full view, he admired the touch of grey on her fur, the pattern on her shoulder. Those eyes most of all.
"Name's Hari. What do they call you? Except for gorgeous."
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:10 am
Talis.
The detriment of her good mood was immediate and sudden. With it, her face fell; her brows tilted in opposite direction, her mouth pulled down at the corners, and her eyes found the space over his shoulder of great interest. "Hari?" She saw it now. How had she missed the resemblance before? "Are you Chyou's Hari?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:15 am
Hari.
Oh, s**t. Not this again. Hari slowly lost the ambition to stand. On his stomach, with his legs out in front of him, he grumbled unintelligible words of woe before he replied, "Yeah, that's me."
She knew more than he did. Her identity was still a mystery to him. He just assumed she'd heard about his misconduct, or maybe that she knew his mother somehow. It didn't really matter which. Failure was imminent.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:21 am
Talis.
Age was a hurdle easily ascended. After all, Kabiro was her junior same as this one, perhaps even younger. They hadn't... They weren't officially a thing, she and Kabiro, so that was only part of her deterrent here. What would Chyou do if she found out she was getting cozy with her son? Talis couldn't afford to erase the paw prints she'd left so far walking down the road of redemption.
"Tell your mom Talis says hi," she said apologetically.
Time to find Ava.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:24 am
Hari.
Talis... Talis...
The princess. Hari didn't bother calling to her. He had no illusions a fond farewell or some half-assed attempt at convincing her to stay would be anything but wasted breath.
"What a rip off..."
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