Farce ||
Well. That performance was downright interesting. Depressing, interesting, and it posed a lot of uncomfortable questions that he was unwilling to seek answers to. The outside world sounded like a downright horrible place. A world filled with tyrants, slaves, spineless cowards, and unreasonable demands. Of course, he wasn't exactly a roaring thunderstorm in the face of adversity, but he had a sense of pride shared by the lions of the Kizi. He was a gypsy- he bowed to no one. He loved his freedom and would rather fling himself into the sea than lower his head to someone.
He remained seated, watching as the crowds rose up to their paws to join one another around the flames or in greeting the troupe from the outside lands. Neither appealed to him. The fires were crowded with laughing lionesses and boasting lions, the merchant stands were swelling with Bahari neighbors looking to bring home exotic gifts from the festival, and the performers were laughing and sharing grand adventures they'd apparently under-taken on their way to their territory.
Farce rose up to a sit and scratched akwardly behind one of his ears. It didn't quite free him from the itch that had grown there, but it had satisfied it enough. Nearly tipping over, he caught himself on a paw. Another lonely figure laid nearby, looking still as uncomfortable and out of place as she had the first Mummer's Dance.
He smiled shyly and raised a paw in greeting.
Paranoia ||
Being new the Kizi, Paranoia did not share her pridemate's dignified response to the ending of the play. She hadn't been here long enough to feel she truly belonged with the majority; besides, while she didn't fit the 'norm', she definitely wasn't the defiant type. Still, she took pleasure in her friends' seemingly glad reactions, and hoped one day she'd feel the same.
She watched as her new acquaintances slowly filtered away, no doubt to greet old friends or go find the fermented fruit that was being raved about earlier. She smiled and nodded when Hana asked if it was okay if the blood-colored lioness went to mingle with her family. It wasn't long before black lioness was by herself - or so she thought. A small stumble caught her attention, and she looked up to see Farce still sitting nearby. In a rather awkward position, but she kept that to herself. Her ears flattened as an odd sensation flowed through her. Kind of like her all too familiar shyness but kind of.. not. Warmer. She grinned as he waved at her and bowed her head.
"H-Hey Farce. Fan-Fancy meeting y-you like this again." Para was trying to jest, but she felt so flustered she couldn't help but stutter. She would be amazed if the young male even heard her correctly.
Farce ||
Farce righted himself. He never carried an aire of dignity about him, but given his lineage it was something that he came by honestly. He sat with his legs splayed slightly, his front paws holding the ground, and his shoulders sloped downward. He was unaware of the comical nature of his chosen position but he'd seen his own sire sit in such a way so it came naturally to him.
When the lioness spoke he smiled a little more and rolled himself to his paws, standing up to shake the sand from his backside.
"Seems the two of us are on the sidelines again." He smirked, though it was almost a sad expression rather than a comical one. "Ah...." Okay, they said hi. That was good...
"So...that play..."
Paranoia ||
"I prefer to be out of the limelight. Though, maybe not quite so far," Para admitted softly, giggling slightly at Farce's out-of-the-ordinary posture. Really, she found it quite endearing, but she felt the male might not take well to being giggled at. Most males didn't. But he wasn't most males. "But I couldn't think of anyone better to be out here with."
The flattery slipped out of Para's mouth without her even noticing; she hadn't meant to sound so.. flirtatious, only to convey that she enjoyed his company, but the second it was out she heard how "suave" it seemed and froze. Eyes wide, she tensed, her claws digging into the dirt beneath her. All at once, her brain seemed crowded with thoughts - such as "Oh, Gods, I hope he didn't notice" - and completely void of anything. Grasping at twigs, she remembered that Farce had mentioned the performance and tried to change the subject.
"Uh, yeah. It was.. s-something. Unexpected." Not as unexpected as her flirting, though. It felt like word vomit. Probably sounded like it, too. Oh, Gods.
Farce ||
Farce balked. Was....she was complementing him? He fought, and failed, against a baffled expression. His eyes went round and his ears rolled forward. To his credit, he kept his big mouth shut. Her discomfort was clear enough and gaping certainly wouldn't help the situation. Not at all...
He swallowed around a suddenly dry mouth and glanced to one side. "Ah...y-you too." Nice. Smooth. Pitiful.
"Heh...I liked the part where...the....one guy...he said...uh..."
Paranoia ||
"Yeah, that was.. interesting," Para agreed, not really knowing what she was agreeing to. Or whether Farce even knew. All she knew was that she wanted to conversation to keep going. If she allowed for any silences, they were bound to be awkward.
Although, she had to admit, she had felt a slight fluttering in her stomach at Farce's response. Or was it in her chest? Either way, something was ruffling around inside her and it wasn't an altogether unpleasant experience. She was also slightly glad that she wasn't the only one who had zero idea how to flirt. The two of them seemed to have similarly feeble social skills. 'Is that good or bad?' she thought briefly, before shrugging it off and deciding it didn't really matter, because it was completely okay by her.
"Oh, wow, this is strange," she muttered to herself. Being lost in the wonderment of weird, new thoughts she hadn't had before - like how her and Farce would work together, and if certain traits that each had would be complimentary to the others', and why am I thinking about this? - she briefly overlooked the fact that she had spoken to herself aloud. Upon realizing that Farce had heard her monologue, she tried to salvage her odd statement. "I mean, that was strange. The play. Strange that they would perform something so grim."
Farce ||
When he finally brought himself to look over at the lioness, he found that she was lost in a strange daze as well. Her eyes had gone distant and an odd but peaceful smile had peeked out from the veil of uncertainty and shyness. Farce, unable to help himself, cracked a smile and laughed. It was an odd sound, one that he often hid behind when the situation had grown overly awkward. Laughter had been his sire, and while it brought joy to the most of his siblings, he had found it to be almost a burden. He broke into laughter at the worst possible times, often when he was feeling put on the spot or fearful. This laughter was...different. And he couldn't stop.
It was lighter, something to fill the akward silence with something, anything, but somehow it felt...better than words. He didn't have to think when he laughed- thinking was far from it. At least he couldn't look any worse.
He forced himself to calm, coughing to cover up the hiccups that rolled out as a result. "AH...very. Yes. Cheetahs. Very weird. And grim- fff..." He wiped at his eyes. "Sorry. Sorry- I...it's..."
Paranoia ||
At first a little taken aback, Para quickly found herself relaxed and a little caught up in Farce's outburst of mirth. She grinned - widely - and felt the tension seep out of her body as her features softened. She giggled along with him, his little hiccups positively charming. While she was starting to get familiar with feeling okay around others, she found the kind of comfort and intrigue that Farce caused was completely new. And very much liked. She hadn't heard anyone laugh like this before, and, while she had no idea why he was laughing so much, she didn't really care.
"Oh, no. You don't need to be sorry.. It's what? What's what?" Para queried, cocking her head to one side curiously. Maybe he was going to let her in on whatever was so funny.
Farce ||
"We're really no good at this." He said bluntly inbetween hiccups. It was true, but in a way it was a relief. He didn't know how to engage in a meaningful conversation. Half his family was barking mad, laughing at anything from sand to seashells while the other half...well he'd not seen them in quite some time.
"I guess we can pick up where we left off l-last year. But...." He glanced back towards the flames. Each pit was occupied with several others already dancing and singing along with the mummers as they performed. Pride or no pride, too many lions was just that- too much.
Paranoia ||
Instead of being embarrassed or offended, Para paused briefly at Farce's abrupt statement and then erupted into a fit of giggles. He was completely right, and there was no denying now that the two of them were trying to flirt. Horribly, to the point where it didn't even seem like it. The idea of it was just absurd, and yet she was content with it, and couldn't find anything more amusing in that moment than the two of them failing so hard. It took her a little while to compose herself, heaving several deep sighs. Finally, blinking away tears, she was calm enough for Farce to continue speaking.
"But what?" Para followed the young male's gaze to all those gathered around the fires. Was he possibly too shy to go into the groups? Well, that suited her just fine. "I can hear the music just fine from here. We don't need to join the crowd to dance," she finished, rising to her paws.
