Welcome to Gaia! ::

It'd been weeks since she'd seen the older lion and now, after she'd grown into a reasonably healthy looking juvenile, Jini was determined to find Sairin. Why? She wasn't sure. However, she did know that she was eager to see the expression on his face once he noticed how much bigger she'd grown. Unfortunately, in comparison to most lions her age, she was abnormally small.

Jini wandered inbetween the watering hole and the hills, eyes and ears alert for any sign of the older male. The probability of him being anywhere near this particular area of the savanah was small, but, she hadn't a clue where else to look for him. They were the only places she had ever seen Sairin- so, there was nothing she could do but hope that he'd show up.

"Here kitty," she called good-naturedly and paused to watch a brown, nasty-looking bug struggle through a dense patch of weeds and grass.

Stealth had never been her best friend. Fortunately, she'd been practicing.

The grass would still shift according to where she pushed it and twigs continued to snap beneath her paws. Little by little, though, her skill had improved.

The juvenile was determined to sneak up on the older male, especailly now that she'd spotted him and found that he'd grown. Bugger. She'd been so looking forward to showing off.

Jini made minimal noise as she crawled towards the watering hole, with her shoulders hunched and her head close to the ground. Excitement bubbled pleasantly within the pit of her stomach and she fought to keep a series of giggles from spewing out of her mouth.

Any moment now, she'd give her position away. Nervous, Jini forced a frown onto her face, in hopes that it's presence might stop the threatening fit of laughter.

It didn't work. A lone giggle escaped and, with a gasp, Jini dove into the thickest patch of grass she could find.

She watched him curiously from her position with wide eyes. He was so big!

Jini was a bit surprised when he didn't charge at the spot where she lay, but not at all put-off. A grin was now prominent on her face. With him sitting on the ground, just barely out of pouncing distance, it was a perfect oppurtunity to do a little bit of haunting.

She stifled a snicker and scurried to the right, eyes never far from Sairin's large frame. A larger than average pebble rolled beneath her paws as she crawled and Jini let out a startled cry when her chin connected with the ground.

Everything happened so fast that Jini hadn't had any time to react. She lay where she had fallen, breaths coming in short, frightened gasps. Her chest strained against the earth below and a few moments passed before she came to her senses and stood up on four shaking legs. The juvenile's lungs sighed in relief, glad to be free.

Jini's eyes locked onto Sairin's and she forced her legs to stand still- determined to appear cool and collected in spite of the startled heart that hammered against her ribcage.

"I was looking for you, if you must now," she snapped and tossed her head back, finally allowing her gaze to travel somewhere other than the older male's eyes. It was then that she noticed his scars.

"What happened to your face?" Her tone was hard and stubborn, but there was an edge of softness to the question that made Jini's tail twitch. She wasn't supposed to worry. She was a fierce adventurer, for heaven's sake!

It really was too bad that her expression knew the truth; that Jini was concerned for Sairin.

"Who was it?" Jini demanded and stomped her front feet, eyes narrowed and now locked on Sairin's for the second time. His scars looked so painful. She couldn't bear to look at them.

If it had been her mother, she didn't know what she'd have done.

She did know that she wanted to give this so-called traitor a piece of her mind and a couple of scars, for good measure. Nevermind that he was likely fifty times her size. Nevermind that it was a ridiculous idea.