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 Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:05 pm
For the first time, Lela'bahari had set her paws in the direction of the Pridelands. Her mother had always told her as a young pup that the Pridelands and the surrounding areas were teeming with lions, lions of all shapes, colors, sizes, and behaviors. Never having caught the glimpse of a lion on either her wanderings, or even near her packlands, Lela could only conjure the image of some frightful, huge feline - much bigger than her Mr. Kika, the kind cheetah she'd once met.
Yet, ever since adolescence had taken hold over her slender body, her mind craved seeing every inch of the earth, and her paws begged for the travel. Since she had yet to come to any important role in her pack, except for the natural role of helping with hunting every so often, Lela had indulged this fantasy of hers. She wanted to finally get the correct picture of a lion cemented into her head. It shocked her, really, that she'd never once spied one in the distance. She supposed that was due to her pack's sheltered nature.
Trotting along swiftly through the grass, Lela stuck out like a sore thumb. Her sleek black and blue coat shimmered in the sunlight, and her tongue lolled from the side of her mouth to realize some of the midday heat. She had chosen that time to sneak off, as the rest of her pack was dutifully asleep in the warm light. She'd have to make sure to find her way back before sunset.
Now where was she ever to find a lion?
[crap, sorry. ;_;]
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:34 pm
Under a partially dead tree, daintely perched on a rock, there was a lion. More of a cub, really, but a lion none the less. Her small blue eyes were glued to an out stretched paw, which she seemed to be concentrating on with ever fiber of her being. A little pink design webbed her toes together, and it was this very pink that had captured her attention so possesively. A frown spread across her young face; they needed cleaning. With a sand paper tongue, she set to work, coating ever last magenta hair with the all purpose spit. Not only did it play an internal roll for her body, it assited with the most importnat ritual in the feline world: grooming. With the care only a cat could take in such activities, she wiped away every tiny speck of dirt, until it seemed she would lick off the very fur she was cleaning. Finally, she pulled her paw away from her and splayed her toes, extended her claws. She admired her handy work, the frown flipping upside down into an adorable smile. Much better.
With the ever present need to be pretty out of the way, Idobo'Intombi let her mind wander to the vast nothingness that surrounded her. Mama and her brother were surely about somewhere, but their exact location was unknown. Her mother was more than likely on the hunt. A rogue, single mom often spent all of their time doing such, especially with two growing cubs. Her brother, on the other hand, could very well be arguing with himself or an innocent bystander somewhere near the den. Intombi had left her little family in search of something better to do, and had eventually stumbled upon this pathetic excuse for a tree. Of course, she didn't think it was pathetic. Her mind was far to optimistic for such a thing, but in truth it really was. Its dried out branches spread in every which direction, looking much like spiny fingers in the old stories of humans. To Intombi, though, it was a sanctuary from the harsh heat. Unfortunatley, there was nothing alive near by. With a sigh, she let her upper body flop onto the cooled stone, and closed her eyes for a light nap.
((Oh, it's totally fine. :3 After this post, my post's will get a bit smaller. x) My intos are always bigger. Hope you don't mind. <3))
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:28 pm
The midday heat was slowly beginning to take a toll on Lela. Although she doubted she'd find water out in the middle of nowhere, there were a few sparse trees dotting the horizon. As small as they were, there was bound to be at least a small circle of shade beneath them. With even the light breeze being tainted by heat, the thought of shade almost made the young wild dog drool. Normally, her escapades into the unknown were much closer to her packlands, and thus closer to a more lush, shady, watering hole-filled area. This venture was becoming much more wearying than profitable. Besides, she hadn't even seen one lion yet!
Changing her direction to the nearest tree, Lela slowed her gait to a weary trot. The pace got her there soon enough, and with a large sigh Lela flopped to the ground in a puff of dry, earthy dust. In fact, the substance nearly covered her black and blue fur, making her look rather dull in appearance. She yawned, too tired to even let her nose work to find the small lion right above her head. The scent wasn't powerful enough to overwhelm her, and the scent of what Lela assumed to be lions had been clogging her nose ever since she gotten closer to the Pridelands.
Shaking her head, ears flopping everywhere, Lela's eyes creaked open as her head tilted back. The normal tones of brown and green greeted her, as well as pink. Her head began to lower towards her paws, and then...Pink?! Her eyes snapped back upwards, and she let out a surprised bark. Pink definitely didn't belong in trees!
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Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:11 pm
A light dream of a yellow cub bounding around a water hole blessed Intombi with sweet thoughts. It was her playmate, Noyana, who was on her mind now. It made sense, really, as what she really wouldn't mind at that moment was someone to play with. Or someone to groom with. Noyana wasn't really one to do that sort of thing with; she grew up with her twin brother and had picked up his habits of disliking baths. Intombi's borther wasn't very fond of them, either, but she had grown to love them. A few gentle snores escaped her maw, her little body rising and falling with every breath. She was the picture of peace. All was calm under the dead tree, on that cool rock in the shade... Peace and quiet. Until the wild dog showed up.
Suddenly, it was broken. Her happy little dream shattered right before her mind's eye, and her own blue orbs shot open in shock. What a strange noise! It sounded like a dying lion; a sort of grunt, but terribly high pitched. The cub shot up her head, trying to regain conciousness quickly. This is quite the feat for a drowzy lion, however, and she failed to completely open her eyes until several moments had passed. When they did, however, she immediatley thought she was dreaming again. The most odd looking creature she had ever seen was under her pathetic tree, looking just as shocked as she was. What on earth was that thing?! It was all dusty and dull looking, and it's snout was far too long. And those ears! What were wrong with them? What was it? Jumping up onto her feat, Intombi backed away slightly, unsure of how to handle the situation. If the creature was going to eat her, it surely would have already, right? Maybe she should... try to talk to it? Could it speak? Gulping down her fears, she stepped forward again and cleared her throat. "HIIIIII." She spoke loud and slow, trying to help the creature understand. "IIIII AAAAAMMMM IIIINNNTTOOOOOMMMBIIIIII." Biting her lip, she winced a little. What if it didn't speak her langauge? "WHAAAT AAREEEE YOOOUUUU?" A hopeful grin spread on her maw, and she looked on the other creature with a sort of fascination.
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Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 5:43 pm
Unlike the cub, Lela was thoroughly awake and thoroughly confused. This...thing in front of her didn't look anything like she'd pictured a lion. Was it even a lion? It was just so small! Some of its features were similar to her cheetah companion in that it was definitely some sort of feline. Yet its legs were much stockier, as well as the shape of the skull different. The paws were even bigger, even though this furry thing was much tinier. The difference between the ribcage and stomach were also not as drastic as her Mr. Kika. But this couldn't possibly be a lion! It was just so...little. Maybe it was a new species?
Feeling as if she was crawling out of her skin from shock, Lela had also taken a few steps back. Her large ears were swiveled forward to the furthest extent, yet her fluffy tail was somewhat tucked between her back legs. Nervously, she danced on her tiny paws, unsure of what to do. When the small thing began to clear its throat, Lela panicked and irrationally began thinking that this smallness was just a deceitful trick! What if its jaws could unhinge like a snake and swallow her whole...or at least half of her, as Lela was quite a bit bigger than what could fit in the small one's stomach. She imagined rows and rows of large teeth suddenly bursting out from its jaws, and a small, pathetic whimper escaped her. So much for bravery.
But then words came out. Strange, drawn out words that made Lela relax somewhat, due to complete consternation. Her head tilted to the side, as curious canines at wont to do, and her eyebrow lifted. What a curious way of speaking. They definitely had a common language, but the accents were quite drastically different. What if she responded in her own voice and the little brown thing didn't understand? Mouthing a silent "oh", she nodded slowly. She tired to mimic the little thing. "Heeellllloooooo." The young female almost giggled from how ridiculous she sounded. "IIIIIIIIII ammmmmm Leeeelllaaaa," she said, and stopped their. Her full name would just be too difficult to sound out slowly. Yet a returning grin took hold of her muzzle, and a look of curiosity gleamed in her blue eyes. "IIIIIII ammmmm aaaa Wiiiiilllld Doooooog. Whaaaaat areeeee yooooooooou?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 8:49 am
Whatever it was, it made really wierd noises. First that high pitched dying sound, and now a lower cry? What did it all mean? Perhaps it was this creature's language, the little cub mused. What she didn't expect was the same slow speak to come out from that super long snout. A wiiiiild dooooog? What in the savannah was that?! Mama had never said anything about 'wild dogs' before. Actually, Mama never said much at all. She was usually hunting or sleeping, and it was rare that Intombi got any of that famouse family quality time. She didn't really mind much, either way. Most of her days were spent on the Pridelander border with her playmate, or roughing around in the mud with her brother. None of this would help her figure out what a wild dog was, however. Were they disfigured lions? This one certainly looked it. Whatever it was, she was apparently right to speak so slow. The wild dog matched her painfully sluggish speech.
"What a wierd way to talk." Her comment was more to herself than anything else. It had yet to occur to her young mind that she had been the cause of the unusual speech patterns. "IIIIII AAAAMMMM AAAAA LIIIOOOONNNN...EEEEEESS." The femine suffix was only added after a few seconds of thought. After a few more moments, she quickly added, "CUUUUBBBB." She wasn't a full out lioness yet, after all. One day, though, she'd be as big and as powerful as her Mama, and she'd have her own little cubs to watch over. As far as she knew, a Mama had cubs on their own with out a Daddy, since her Daddy wasn't around... ever. What a niave little creature she was.
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 4:38 pm
Lela didn't often get family time either. With so many siblings, it was a constant battle for their mother's attention. But like Intombi, Lela had never once known a father. As a pup, she had believed the mothers could have puppies by themselves if there was no father, but as she aged, she had found out what truly happened. Even though Lela was a naturally trusting being, this knowledge made her more wary of strange, rouge males.
The fact the little feline had said perfectly clear, normal words passed over Lela at first. A bit of excitement came into her expression when she heard the word 'lion' somewhere in the small thing's speech. So it was a lion! Maybe it was a dwarf one, then? Maybe it was weird. Maybe it was disfigured and that was why it was all alone. But the young female's question was answered for her. A cub. That was similar to a pup, right? So this was a...baby lion? And did the -ess ending mean it was also female?
"IIIII'vvveee neeeevvverrrr seeeeeeen aaaaa-" Wait. This was a pointless way of communication. It would take forever just to say one simple sentence. Plopping her rump on the ground and curling her tail over her paws, Lela spoke again in her normal, light voice. "That's a perfectly silly way to converse, isn't it? If wild dogs and cheetahs can talk to each other, then wild dogs and lions should be able to too." With a nod, she picked up on her previous thread of thought. Lela had a bad habit of skipping around like that. "I've never seen a lion before. In fact, that was my whole reason for being out here today. Even if you weren't quite what I was expecting." Lela grinned at the cub, thumping her tail in a good-renatured manner.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 6:24 pm
Intombi was a bit surprised when the wild dog came out with regular speech, as opposed to that painfully slow dialect. It was a good thing, too. If the whole conversation had stayed at such a slow pace, the cub would have gotten bored very quickly. Her attention span simpley wasn't long enough for something at that pace. She let out an excited little 'oh', tapdancing on her front paws from where she sat. This could get veeerrry interesting, she mused. The only playmate she had was a lion cub, and that was so familiar. Now that she knew there was something else out there in the world, she was very excited. So lions really weren't the only creatures that roamed the savannah! Good thing, too. What fun would it be if they were the only ones?
"It's super easier to talk normal." She giggled a little, pawing at the stone beneath her. "I've never heard of a wild dog before." She smiled a little, liking that she was the first lion this female had ever seen. There was something special about that, at least in her mind. It made her feel... different. "Well, I'm not really big... or anything like that." She shrugged sheepishly. Maybe Lela had been looking for an adult like Mama? What a shame she didn't know where her mother was for the dog to see. "Why do you look like that?" She cocked her head to the side, her thoughts quickly jumping to the state of the other female's fur. It was so... dull; the way her own fur got when she rolled through some dust.
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Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:32 pm
Honestly, Lela couldn't picture something bigger than Intombi. It would be a shock to the canine when she did happen across an adult, as it was sure than all lions were not as friendly as this small one. But it did make Lela feel rather pleasant that she'd provided a new experience for a young creature of another species - sort of the way Mr. Kika had done for her.
The young female cocked her head at the cub's question. Her brow wrinkled as she tried to concentrate. "Well, I..." Why did she look like this? The anatomy of a wild dog was clearly different from that of a lion, but why had that come to be? It was much too much of a deep, theological discussion for Lela, full to the brim of heavy concentration. Lela was very rarely in the moods for such things, though she'd depressingly found herself more apt to them as she grew. But maybe that was what growing up meant.
Closing her eyes in a very wise-looking manner, she lowered herself to her belly, crossing her paws in front of her. "I look like this because it's the way my mother looked, and it was the way her mother looked before her. Just like you look the way you do because your mother looks like that." She nodded, feeling her answer was sufficient, if slightly tongue-tying.
As to Lela's fur...she really never noticed whether she was clean or not, like most canines. Being dirty was just a part of life.
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Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:23 pm
Pausing to think on this, the little brown cub stared hard at her paws. Was that why a lion looked as they did? Simpley because their mother's had? That was complicatingly easy to grasp, and it frustrated Intombi. Her attention span and young mind were far from developed enough to really think about matters like these, especially when there was somethng more interesting to think about. Not only had she just met a new friend, but a new species! Wait 'til her brother heard about this one. The pair had slowly been collecting stories of their daily lives to try to out-'cool' eachother. This one deffinatley had to bring home the prize, right? After all, he had never met a wild dog. After a few moments of thinking over how exciting this whole thing really was, she realized that Lela might just be waiting for a response to her thoughtful answer. "Oh... That makes sense." She smiled warmly up at the taller female, tracing circles on the stone with a claw on her right paw absently.
One of the very last things the cub wanted to happen was the conversation to stop moving, and it seemed it was her turn to bring up a topic. Coming up with something that the other female might also enjoy, however, was prooving a tad difficult. What did wild dogs do all day, anyway? Did they play around like lions did? Lela surely didn't seem boring, but she mght be the exception to the species rule. Why hadn't she ever met a wild dog before, anyway? Did they live far away or something, or maybe they just really shy and hid all the time. "Where do you live, anyway? I've never seen anyone like you before..."
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Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:49 pm
Lela nodded again, tail thumping noisily on the ground. She wasn't very sure about lions either, or their daily activities. She knew they must hunt, due to the pointy teeth she saw in Intombi's mouth as she talked. But was their a group of them, like wild dogs, or did more of them go at it alone? She was so curious about all the aspects of life that questions nearly bubbled over inside of her...But Intombi being just a cub, she wondered if the small brown lion could answer all her questions.
"I live quite a far way from here, deep in the Southlands. I'm in a pack called Mitima'Tangatanga with my mother, siblings, and others of my kind," she grinned. Her ears swiveled constantly, one after the other, listening to the sounds of the land around her. If only deep down, Lela was a bit frightened of the cub's mother approaching and thinking her a threat to her daughter. Lela wasn't exactly a big enough dog to thoroughly defend herself. "But my kind," she picked back up, "live all over the place. We all live in packs, normally, as living on our own is very, very difficult. Most wild dogs don't usually survive without a pack." Lela nodded sagely. Her mother had always taught her to always stay with a pack. Only death awaited those that chose a rogue life.
"And where do you live? I've never had the chance to meet a lion before."
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:32 am
Intombi listened intently, absorbing the information like a brown and pink sponge. She nodded her understanding a few times, but didn't interrupt, wanting the dog to go until she stopped on her own. Being a curious cub, she was quick to take in any scrap of knowledge she could. Such a hobby would make her a well rounded lioness one day, and a formidable foe to most of those she crossed on her travels. The thing that sounded most interesting to her, though, was not how far away Lela lived. It was more of /how/ she lived, the idea that they were in groups. Intombi knew of prides, but she had never been in one before. Her best friend was a member of the nearest one, but that was s familiar with them as she was. Her mother was a single, rogue lioness, who was attempting to raise two cubs on her own. Not neccesarily the smartest move, but somehow, they were making it. Of course, it was a possibility that the cubs would be on their own far sooner than was usual for their species. They could only hope that life might grace them with one or two advantages, or nudge them in the direction of a pride.
After all of that thinking, it was hard to gather the few facts she knew of an average lion's life to relay to the dog. "Well, I live with Mama in my brother in a den... We're in the rouge lands, though, instead of in a pride. I dunno much about what a pride lion does all day, but they live in groups like you. I think there are a lot of cubs in a pride, which sounds fun. Sometimes I wish Mama was in one, but oh well." She paused, trying to think of where lions lived. She was sure they were all over the place, though she had yet to travel very far from the den, and really had no idea. "I think lions life all over, but I dunno for certain. Maybe we only live here." She shrugged a little, but instantly felt bad. "Sorry I can't tell you much. Oh, what do wild dog cubs do for fun?" That was a topic she knew more about than anything, and it would be interesting to know what cubs of other species did when they got bored.
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:06 pm
The poor thing was a rogue? Lela couldn't possibly imagine how hard it was to live like that...but maybe it was easier to lions to wander on their own as opposed to wild dogs? Wild dogs were just so unbearably social that Lela couldn't imagine life with only a brother and a mother for company. Of course, she'd learned from her mother that she was a rogue before she had given birth to Lela and her siblings. Luckily, their pack had been reformed before she'd actually had to give birth.
She grinned at the cub. "I'm sure it is a lot of fun. Maybe you can join a pride when you're older?" She thumped her tail, amused that the cub was apologizing for not knowing much. Compared to what Lela know when she was that age, Intombi had her by miles. "That's perfectly fine," she said. "And as for our young, we call them pups. In my pack, my siblings and I were the only pups, so we had to just play with one another - all seven of us. We spent tons of time playing tag, wrestling, swimming, and we'd even sometimes sneak away from Mother to go on little adventures," she laughed. "We could even coax some of the adults into play. There's nothing more wild dogs love that pups - their own or somebody else's."
Here her tone dropped somewhat, as if she sharing a great secret with the young cub. "But as for me, I always used to sneak away from my entire pack to go wandering alone. I met quite a few...interesting characters on my "secret adventures". I'd sneak off after the adults to watch them hunt, I'd wander into the forests, and one time I even found a secret watering hole." Lela hadn't been to that watering hole in quite some time. It seemed as she got older she was roped into more and more responsibility, and that thought didn't appeal to her. Sometimes...she even wondered if she'd like the life of a rogue. But what she truly desired was some sort of companion to travel all over the place with.
"What do you and your brother do for fun, then?" she asked.
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Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 4:48 pm
The little one nodded her understanding at the difference between a cub and pup, and wondered breifly if they might get along with eachother. Lela seemed perfectly fun, why wouldn't the youngest of her species be the same? Flicking her tail at a fly, she imagined what a pack of wild dogs around here might be like. As far as she knew, there were none near by, but she could be wrong. Perhaps Lela would stay nearby and make a pack? If a wild dog could make their own, that was. Or maybe she'd become a loner, or join a pride. Wouldn't that be interesting, a dog in a pride of cats.
"Wow! Seven? That's amazing. My mama only had two cubs." Intombi stared in amazement at the dusty creature, unsure if she was telling the truth or making a joke. Seven in one litter seemed like a whole lot. Of course, what Intombi didn't know was that a lion litter could get as big as around six cubs. As far as she knew, two was it. She giggled a little after hearing that Lela snuck off eery once in a while, and nodded excitedly. "I sneak away from the den a lot, but Mama doesn't mind much. She's off hunting usually, anyway."
Perking up a bit to explain the ways of lion play, Intombi shifted around her front paws. "Well... we wrestle a lot, and play tag, too. I go see my friend, Noyana, more, though. Me and her climb trees... or at least try to. And we swim and try to catch things in the watering holes. It's lotsa fun!" She grinned wildly, obviously getting excited about the topic of play. "When I'm alone, I groom, though. I like to look as good as I can when I'm exploring, 'cause I might meet someone knew." She beamed, proud of her cleaning job. "So are all wild dogs blue and black like you?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:57 pm
Lion cubs and wild dog pups most likely would get along at an early age, despite being completely opposite species. However, what the parents would say of such a bond wouldn't probably fall on the positive side of things. There were, though, other wild dogs near the Pridelands. She'd run into one not too long before meeting Intombi. Though whether had liked the emotionless male canine, she couldn't say.
"Yes," she laughed. "Seven pups. That's an average size though - no where near as big as they can get. I've even heard of some mothers having twelve little puppies." Lela couldn't imagine that. Of course, she'd love to have pups of her own someday, just not so many as to be overwhelmed. Four or five sounded like a nice number. Beating her tail on the ground, Lela turned her attention back to the cub. "My mother minds. I'm supposed to sleep all day so I can take part in the nightly rituals and go hunting. All of my siblings and myself are hunters - except for my sister, Keilantra. She's the heir, so she doesn't have to do anything," she said, placing her head down on her paws with a mild frown wrinkling her brow. It was if the whole subject of rituals and hunting and regularity and schedule bored Lela out of her entire mind. But then she giggled. "So I try to sneak away as much as possible."
Rolling so that her back legs stretch to the side, Lela leaned her shoulder against the flimsy tree trunk. "Lion cubs sound an awful lot like pups. It's a shame we didn't meet when I was a pup," she said, an easy grin on her face. "Climbing trees? I've always wanted to do that...Just never had the capability. I don't think dogs were meant for really climbing anything." Lela looked at her claws, dull from walking and running long distances. There was no way for them to sink into the wood and pull a heavy canine body into the air. "You groom?" Lela quirked a brow. "When I was a pup, I hated bath time. The only way I ever got clean was when I played in the water," she laughed. "In fact, that's still the way I am now. But no, wild dogs come in every shape, size, and color. Most of my siblings have some blue on them, but one of my brothers has bright pink - like your paws, but his is even brighter." Tilting her head to the side, she asked, "I know wild dogs have different colors, but what about lions?"
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