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 Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 6:13 pm
The Pride Lander yawned and shook his head. Rough night. Since the cubs have been born, Ger had spent much more time outside rather in the den. It was too crowded for his own good, well, not to mention Kujack and Aysha took good space now there were five more to compete for. At least he was able to gaze upon the stares above at night. During the day, he got the passing clouds to gaze upon. He was content with where he was, but there was still something missing for him. He missed home.
Every seven days, the adolescent would approach the border that separated the two territories. From where he was, he could easily see the pinnacle of Pride Rock, his birth place and home. It gave him great relief that it was still standing while he was gone. He wondered what they were all doing now...the king, the queen, Uncle Mufasa and Aunty Sarabi, his mother, Ezeoha, and Trina...did they even notice that he was gone? No, they were probably too busy with their own things. Ruling the Pride Lands, taking care of herself, looking to other males for some fun, and Ez was probably flirting with some female. Then it hit them, they were about his age, meaning they have grown! Trina and Ez probably had mates by now...even their own families, cubs. And while he was out here missing them. One day he would return...just didn't know when.
He let out a soft sigh and crossed the border. A quick run around the lands wouldn't hurt, right? He was welcomed here seeing as he was of the local's blood. He just let his socked paws carry him, flying across the lands. He loved the feeling of the wind passing him, racing him. At least he could forget...
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 2:01 pm
Jini was out and about again. He was noticing it was becoming a lot easier to move around near or slightly across the borders then it used to be. He wasn't exactly sure he could call it building his confidence, but he sure was growing more comfortable with the little trips. And that was at least a little progress, wasn't it? His ears twitched slightly as he moved through the long stalks of grass, turning his head to gaze off in the distance.
He paused where he was, blinking his green eyes. There was a blur not far off...and it seemed to be getting larger. It took him a moment to realize it had to be someone headed directly towards him. He took a step back, uncertainty causing his ears to press against his head. He shifted a little to the side, hoping not to get in the way of whatever...or whoever it was.
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 2:51 pm
Ger moved his paws carefully, mindful of which and where it would land. His paws carried him far, his runs were more of effortless lunges. He had grown so accustomed to this that he feels as if he was walking. But what he noticed the most was that he was home. This was where he was born, this was where he explored when he was a cub, this is where he met his friends. This was where he wanted to be, but could not. An unreachable dream. He made a promise and he intended to stick with it. He made a promise to stay with Kujack, that is what he was going to do.
His paws slowed down a bit when a scent of another came from upwind to him. It was another lion? Strange...well, not really. This was the Pride Lands, there were many lions around as well as many other species. It would not be out of the ordinary for there to be an encounter here in the most peaceful lands around. Maybe is was because he was gone for so long he hardly randomly met another lion. Wonder who it is? A part of him hoped it was one of his friends.
He carefully sinked into the tall grass, stalking about toward the other. He could smell his scent, it was getting stronger indicating it was close.
"Hah!"
He cried jumping out of the grass and at the other.
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:22 pm
As Jini finally settled a little he found the figure in the distance had disappeared. He frowned slightly, confusion flickering through his eyes. Had he been imagining things? He supposed it was possible...
That was, until he heard a shout and turned his head to see a lion jumping right at him! Jini cried out in horror and tumbled backwards, tripping over his own paws. He rolled in the dirt and grass until he landed on the flat of his belly, feeling the world spin around him.
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:35 pm
Ger smiled and leaned down to his side.
"Did I scare ya?"
He asked with a playful smile and laugh. It was an adolescent, just like himself. strange markings on his shoulder, tail, and back. His mane was streaked with black and white, even had adorable black and white eye markings too. Who was this one? The markings look like those of the female he met long ago. Mosi was it?
Ger smiled and sat down beside the other lion.
"Name's Ger, I'm from around here. What's your name?"
He asked with the charming smile he gave everyone. He had no quarrel with anyone so everyone got that sweet charming smile. This stranger seemed a bit different than the other lions he had met. Trig was a nice one, but his secrets should have been left like that, secrets. Duhushi was mean...but he seemed like a sweet person if he wasn't so...uptight. Aysha and Kujack, there were no words to describe them. Ny was nice too, but she was a female, she had nothing against him....unlike that monster from teh graveyard that chased him all night when he was there. Maybe Jini can shine a new personality to his recent encounters.
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:48 pm
Jini flushed beneath his fur at being startled so easily. He shifted and stat up a little, his head still bent over sheepishly. His green gaze moved to the other adolecent shly, barely able to look at him straight on due to his embaressment, "A-a-ah....a...l-little..." His white ears pressed against his head sharply and he stumbled to correct himself, realizing that question probably hadn't required an answer at all. "Um...ah...I'm sorry! I'm...Jini...." He looked a little overwelmed, "It's...n-nice to meet...you..."
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 4:04 pm
Ger quirked a brow and put a paw under the other's muzzle, lifting it up so he could see his eyes before taking it away. This one studdered his words, he wasn't very confident...
"Jini, don't be like that, there is nothing to apologize for. Come on, buck up, keep that chin up. There is nothing to be afraid of, right?"
That was rather blunt. He didn't care if the gesture was mistaken as an affectionate one. That was not his intention. He was just trying to get the other, Jini, to be a bit more confident. Consider it a way to apologize for scaring him.
Ger laid down now, side by side to Jini.
"So, you are from around here?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 4:21 pm
It took all Jini's self control not to duck his head in surprise at the other adolecent's gesture. He had never had a stranger talk to him like that before! Well, not really! He felt tongue tied, struggling to find words to say in return. Instead he managed to make a funny squeaking sound. He quickly covered his maw with a paw and only allowed it to drop slowly after he had swallowed repetedly and was sure he could talk. He stammered, "N-n-no...I'm s-sorry."
He felt dizzy. He hoped it was only because of his tumble earlier, "Y-yes...I was...born here..."
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 4:33 pm
Ger chuckled at the adorable squeak noise, it was as if he was a cub at heart. In truth, sometimes he was as well. There were somethings that never go away truely, old habits die hard. Ger just smiled.
"No need to be sorry, Jini. If you apologize to something that needs no apologize then your apologize would be a lie. Understand? And lying is a bad thing."
He said smiling once more. He did that often now-a-days. It was just something that made himself happy and let others know it too.
So he was born here too. He was a Pride Lander like he was. That made things much more easier, well for him. Here he can relate some when it came to things around here in the home he felt behind. One day he would return, his heart told him so.
"Jini, walk with me? And...I was born here too."
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 5:06 pm
Jini looked utterly confused. It was a lie to apollogize? How so...? And how did you know if it wasn't ok to apollogize? In all honesty, he always felt like he had something to say sorry for. But...he didn't want to argue, even if it meant he was scolded like a cub. He nodded mutely, looking even more sheepish then before if that was possible. At Ger offer he bumbled to his feet, stammering a bit of acceptance, "S-s-sure..."
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 5:19 pm
Ger just smiled and started to walk.
"The Pride Lands' a nice place, isn't it? Nice, quiet, and peaceful. Still governed by the laws of the Great King Mohatu, you know? Only take as much is needed and nothing more. The Great Circle of Life is even a more ancient law here too. Do you follow those rules, Jini? It is what keeps these lands at peace. I love it....it makes me feel safe, like there is no harm can befall me here, you know?"
He spoke, keeping his chest out and his head high. This was how he walked now, well since he met Duhushi and Trig. Those two...were amazing. He turned his teal gaze to Jini.
"Come on, Streaky, pick that head up. What is there to be afraid of? I won't hurt you, I have no reason to. Besides, you can't be a scared y cat all the time. What would you do if I got attacked?"
It was an honest question. What if a random hyena jumped from the bushs and attacked Ger? What would Jini do? Leave him and run away? Hope not, Ger could see something inside of Jini that could change for the better. He was just gonna help push it along.
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:49 am
Jini had been unable to muster any words during Ger's chatter until the end and by this time he was feeling thuroughly shameful and embaressed. He wanted to say that fear and shyness weren't the same, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to do it. Maybe they were the same. It's not like he was very wise or anything. But he answered honestly, even if it was a rather stupid reply, "W-well...I don't know...no one....does that around here..." It was true. He hadn't really been exposed to violence and he really didn't like the idea of it. He was reminded somehow by this conversation of the time he had met a former firekin. She had scolded him for his stupidity. Had he gotten anywhere from that day? He had thought so before but...now with this other young male talking to him he wasn't so sure.
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 4:19 pm
Ger could only smile and keep walking, turning back to Jini now and again. He was sure the shy type. He had met a few before, but Jini cut the line. He was REALLY shy. What could he do to make him feel more comfortable? Nothing was coming to mind at all.
"Well, I guess you're right. The only time I ever got attacked was when I traveled to the Elephant Graveyard and saw that monster. Then again, he didn't really attack me but yelled at me. But that was when I was a cub. So I guess you are right, Streaky."
He spoke. Ger's paw picked up a cloud of dust occasionally when he walked on the dirt path. Jini was a strange one, he was so nice, but quiet and shy. Ger wished he could make him more comfortable and show him that there was no reason to be shy around him. Maybe he would grow out of it, who knows.
"Come on, Jini, or I'll leave ya behind."
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 4:40 pm
Jini hurriedly picked up the pace, catching up to Ger as he went. Though his shyness lingered, his interest had been perked a little. An old friend of his had come from the graveyard and she didn't really talk about the place much. "You've...been to the graveyard...?" He questioned with hesitation. It didn't sound like his experience there had been good, so he was reluctant to ask. But he was interested in knowing what it was like there.
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:03 pm
"Well, I came from there a couple of passing suns. I met the prince of that pride himself! And a very large lion, maybe the pride's guard, but he was really huge! But when I first came there, there was this big monster thing. It was so big and it reeked of death."
Ger shivered a bit and continued to walk. Tanaka was his name..the name of the monster he met that day, never saw him since. But the image was still in his mind. A being a good deal taller than that lion he met named Trig. Well, if Trig grew another foot or two, change his fur white, mane gold, and gave him wings....that was the monster he remembered.
"It seemed fitting for something like that to be in the Graveyard. The place was scattered with the bones of the dead, everywhere. And where there was dirt, it was hard like dried blood, matted down by passing paws. But the part I was in, the one where I met the two lions. It seemed so nice there. Quit, isolated, it seemed like a great place to raise a family."
Ger chuckled a bit and smiled.
"Sorry, I'm talking about myself. Tell me about yourself, Jini. Why the sudden interest in the place that shares the border with our homeland?"
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