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 Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:14 pm
Kipanya felt utterly lazy stretching out underneath a tree, but he was exhausted. Learning to hunt from his father was proving tougher than he originally suspected; Mvumo had made it look so easy! But now that he had several failed attempts to his name, the dark brown adolescent was starting to give up hope. It was bad enough trailing after his father during their normal walks; learning to hunt included running at the same pace as father and figuring out how to use his claws correctly. It also involved several clumsy missteps and failings.
Just once he wanted to prove himself. Though his father was good at hiding it, Kipanya feared that he was disappointing the older lion. Besides, if he never learned to hunt, he'd have no chance of seeing the place where his father was born, and worst of all, he'd be a disappointment to his pride.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:50 pm
((Woahhhh, perfectness. XD ))
-Softly Xu's ivory paws padded against the dusty savannah, green eyes hitched upwards at the sky as she tried to guess how much sunlight was left in the day. It was routine for her to awaken so late in the day, so the task itself only took a moment, and softly her eyes settled upon the grasses.
No brothers or sisters to play with today. And she felt so lonely, the empty grasslands not helping at all.
Yellow tail tip flailing softly, she lifted her nose to the air, trying to see if she could catch the scent of some prey animal nearby. She needed someone to put her mind on, and it might as well be practicing.-
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:01 pm
Kipanya thought he smelled another lion, but he was feeling too lazy to look about too carefully. Anyway, if that white form nearby was what he was smelling, it was probably his brother, and the last thing he needed to do was talk to him. Insult to injury! Kubwa had probably heard already about his latest failure, and would delight in teasing him about it.
Well, if it was his brother, he'd find him eventually anyway. Hiding would be cowardly, and make things a lot worse than they were. A lion, afraid? Not Kipanya!
"Kubwa?" the young lion called, squinting at the creature in the distance.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:11 pm
-Ears pivoted softly to catch the sound, eyes soon following after. A name? Well it could be a prey animal calling another... Eyes searching low, she finally settled on the source of the voice.
It wasn't, but that was okay! Another lion was even better then prey. Perking up lightly, she called out cheerfully.- "Afraid not. Just Xu."
-Pulling closer to the stranger, she inspected him with soft interest, as of yet not having met a lion of his color. It was pretty, like the trees, or nice cool damp earth.- "Are you looking for them?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:19 pm
Kipanya blinked in surprise as the other lion approached. This wasn't his brother - it was a girl who was his age. Unexpected, but certainly better than the alternative.
"No, not particularly looking for him," he said with a shrug as he stood up to greet her. "I just mistook you for my brother. I haven't seen another white lion around here before, so I made a silly assumption...please forgive me. It's nice to meet you, Xu. My name's Kipanya."
Then, as if deciding quickly that the conversation wouldn't get very far with just his name, he asked, "So, what brings you to this part of the Pridelands?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:31 pm
"Ohhh, most of my family is white as well. It's easy to make mistakes." -She nodded softly to his explaination. There had been occassion or two when she and her brother Jing had been called each other on accident. But then, the two almost looked like twins. Minus the placement of a few markings, and the yellowy mane that now adorned his head.
Anyway, misidentification aside, she bobed her head softly in greeting, filing the name into her mind as she chirped politely and pleasantly.- "Hello Kipanya."
"I am..." -She paused briefly, turning her eyes upwards as she thought on the answer, before finally giving one coated in an embarrased laugh.- "I was trying to find something to do with my day really... I thought I might practice my hunting maybe."
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:38 pm
Kipanya stared at the ground for a moment. "Well...uh...I don't think there are any prey beasts left around here...that is...I kinda scared them away a while ago," he explained, shrugging as he laughed at the situation. Someone else was needing to practice hunting too? Well, at least he was saved some of the embarassment...though it really was difficult to admit, and he had to suppress a laugh while doing so.
"I think they all ran in that direction," he said with a tilt of his head to indicate where. "I suppose I could tag along with you if you'd like. I could use the practice myself."
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:53 pm
"Oh?" -Whether it was rude or not Xu couldn't help but giggle a little at his confession, before giving a sympathtic look.- "Most of the time I'm too tired to chase them anyway, so they usually get away. I was feeling rather good today though."
-Casting her eyes in the direction he'd motioned, she grinned at the offer/suggestion, padding forward a few steps, before turning confiding her own few words with him.- "It's hard to find the thing you're good at, don't you think? I've been looking for a long time now. I thought maybe it was hunting.. but.."
-Trailing her eyes turned back to the lead, and she began to pad along once more.- "I guess we'll just have to see."
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Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 8:28 am
Kipanya kept in step slightly behind the lioness and to her left. "It is hard," he admitted. "But I suppose I can't be too worried yet; I haven't even got my full mane yet," he said as he stretched his neck as if trying to see the growth of black fur on his neck among the dark brown. "My father and mother had to roam as rogues far beyond the borders of the Pridelands before they finally found their place here. I guess I can wait...even though it's really annoying."
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Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:56 am
-For a brief moment the lioness' pleasant brightness subsided, eyes casting downward.- "I don't know.. My sister No and brother Jing have both already run off to help rule prides of their own.. My brother Ai is so busy with his friend Kat. They all have something they're special at. Very brave, or very wise, or silly. I just feel like a baby.. while everyone else grows up around me."
-Sighing with soft exasperation, her eyes lifted once more, trying to gain some of the opptimism that had been in his own words.- "But maybe they're all just quick learners. There is still time to find my place in the world."
"Yours too," she added with a happy nod, obviously pleased to have a kindred spirit nearby for the time being. It made her feel a little more normal, a little less like a failure that couldn't keep up with her wonderful, albeit overacheiving, family.-
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Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:22 pm
Kipanya frowned as he listened to this talk of Xu's siblings and how much they had achieved. "My brother claims he's met a goddess already," he said. "And when my dad was my age, he was fighting for the freedom I take for granted. It's just so...strange. I can't imagine achieving any of that yet."
"Anyway, there is time yet for both of us. If there wasn't...well, you and I wouldn't be here, walking down a path of learning."
"Besides," he added, "I'll bet that when you do find your place, you'll achieve more than any of your siblings could."
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Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:11 am
-She listened with soft interest to his own plight, before nodding in agreement.- "It is hard to believe really. I've seen so little and done so little, I can't imagine being ready enough to accomplish anything big yet. One day though.."
-The sunny yellow tip of her tail flicked gently with the compliment and reassurance. She didn't particularly believe it. That she'd surpass her family, but to hear the words were a soft comfort on her ears, and she nodded thankfully.- "That's very nice of you."
-Grey-green eyes turning to the brown male once more, a grin plastered her ivory maw. How quickly he'd lifted her spirits. And today she was awake for once, perhaps her problem wouldn't perk up today. Yes... it was going to be a good day.- "I think I might hear something over the hill, you ready? Hunting should work out alot better when there are two of us!"
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:30 pm
The dark brown male nodded, as his blue eyes focused on the landmark in question. Yes, anything could be over that hill...and with a new friend to help him hunt, perhaps things would go better. After all, didn't the adults usually hunt together? Wasn't that the whole point of being in a pride in the first place?
"I'm ready," he whispered as he walked a bit more cautiously through the grass. Kipanya didn't know much about hunting, but he did know that being quiet was an extremely important part of it. He suspected this was why his mostly-silent father was so good at it.
As he glanced at the white female for confirmation of some sort of plan, he couldn't help but think about what a strange day this was turning out to be.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 7:40 am
-She nodded confidently as she repeated his tender crouching steps, quite good by now at keeping silent from all the times she'd snuck from her den as a child. She'd never successfully hunted, but the pep talk, and soft presence beside her has her hopefully, and slowly she stalked up the hill, trying to peek over the edge without letting her bright coat give her away.
On the downslope of the hills a few young gazelle grazed and played, enjoying the sunlight and warmth of the day. Not much younger then the two lions who lay in hiding, they still stood tall, legs already beginning to show those muscles that would one day become powerful defense for the creatures.
Xu paused softly, having hoped to start with something a little smaller. Casting questioning eyes at Kipanya, she waited for some sign that he wanted to continue. If he did, well then, she would to!-
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 1:07 pm
Kipanya's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scene below them. Gazelles...young gazelles. He wasn't sure that their youth would make them faster or slower in this case, but they appeared to be old enough to be away from the rest of the herd. If they got back in time to avoid their claws...well, they'd have something to laugh about later.
His gaze then turned to Xu as he tried to gauge if she was ready. He smiled at her for a moment, trying to encourage her into action.
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