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 Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 12:29 pm
Frowning, her ears pressed forward and she heaved herself to her feet. After a few moments of getting her feet under her and getting her bearings, she flared her nostrils and picked out a specimen. A big old grasshopper was perched at the end of a blade of grass, ready to jump to another a short distance away. But beyong that, Safuma spotted a boulder, shade and water. Her scarlet eyes widened and she plunged forward without a care. The pool was small, hardly enough to attract more than small rodents which darted away at her arrival. Safuma smiled proudly, lowering her head to lap up a few cooling drinks of the water.
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 12:45 pm
"Well, well Zeki, it seems like we took a bit longer to run this time. The sun's up."
A voice of an older male, strong and powerful, a good tenor tone. The male was tall enough to stand over the tall grass, at least up to chest - shoulder height. Something spoke that made it laugh as he let out his loud laughter.
"Alright, go back to the water hole then and come right back home, don't take the long way either or else your mother will skin both our hides. Just be careful and be polite to anyone you meet. See you back home."
The taller male smiled and seemed to move something down below, hidden in the dark grass before he moved back and left. The grass continued to rustle lightly until the golden cub rolled on out. Taking a moment to plucking the grass out of his fur, he made sure his fur was straight and that genetic cowlick was at least presentable.
Zeki, the son of Ger and Trina, and a cousin to those that fell directly from the royal line of the late King and Queen. What seemed odd was that he looked a lot like he belonged on that side of the family tree. The Pride Land's genetic golden fur, the royal family's crimson eyes, and some say that he has the late kings shadow markings around his eyes, though he was a bit skeptic.
Looking around, it seemed like he made it to the path that led directly to the water hole, with a smirk and a leap, the cub sped over to the water.
However, when Ezekiel got there, he didn't expect to find what he did. A female, around his age. Recollecting what he had learned from his trips with his father, he smiled and dipped his head as a courtsy.
"Hello, miss, I apologize if I disturbed you. My name's Ezekiel, but please, call me Zeki."
As his head returned to its upright position, he smiled softly. Sweetly.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 5:48 am
Safuma's crimson eyes darted upward at the sound of something coming through the grass, her round ears pressing forward though she didn't lift her head. Drawing a few more soothing laps from the pool, she at last raised her head so that she could look at the cub. He was about her age, and he looked like he could pass for one of her siblings, though she knew he wasn't. He had strange markings on his shoulders, but the contrast was fitting and she found the sight to be pleasing. His red tail was reminiscent of her grandda, or atleast that was what she had been told. Her tail flicked side to side against the grass as she let her hind legs fold beneath her.
"You didn't. My name is Safuma, it's nice to meet you... Zeki." She nodded her head softly, it was wierd to see such politeness from a cub. He may have known who she was on sight, but Saf doubted that. This cub seemed to be kind on impulse and personality, not because of the title of who he was speaking with. She met his smile, though, sweet and gentle.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:36 am
Zeki smiled in return, sweet and innocent, as he sat down. His tail flicked itself over his paws. She looked familiar; perhaps he had seen her around the Pride Lands during one of the runs with his father. Perhaps he met her when his father brought him to Pride Rock. Who knows, there are a lot of lions around the Pride Lands, even more at Pride Rock. But he cannot escape the temptation of being a lot more polite than usual. His uncle had taught him a certain “code”, one that he made his own. In his uncle’s words, “respect females.”
The Pride Lander dipped his head slowly as another courtesy. He rose up with a puffed chest and smiled.
“Well, what is a young lady such as yourself doing way out here by yourself? You could easily get hurt, or stepped on, or even get lost (TLK2).”
Zeki chuckled, a kidding tone in his voice knowing that a female like her could probably take care of herself if she came way out here by herself. If not, then he is around. His father had once told him “safety in numbers.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:59 pm
The cub blinked a few times, slowly processing what was being said until a smile grew and she laughed brightly. The chuckle confirmed that he was kidding, but for a moment he'd sounded like the stuffy old adults warning her that the sky itself might fall down upon her at any moment. She's not yet run into even a bit of trouble on the Pride Lands and she didn't see herself running into any for sometime, if ever. Her crimson eyes took in the cub once again, one brow arched as she considered his odd demeanor.
Deciding he was simply polite and she had no reason to be a stiff, she tilted her head and smiled once more, "I was chasing grasshoppers. And one led me here." She wouldn't admit that she had been in dire need of a rest, but she'd admit that the grasshopper had done the hard work, "Seemed like a good place to rest for awhile. And look, I met a nice young man for all my troubles." She grinned at him.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 11:34 am
Zeki chuckled at her last remark.
"Well, I'll take that as a compliment from a pretty young lady."
With a smirk, he rose to his feet and moved a bit closer. It was much more proper to talk to someone closer rather than far away. It made things easier on the vocal box. One knows that lions have strong vocals. This "Safuma" sounded like a sweet girl, judging by her fur, she must have been from the Pride Lands. Even as far as to say from the Royal family of the late king and queen.
"My father and I run here every morning before sunrise to do what we need; drink, wash up, the works and then head on home. However, it looks like today we were rather late then again, my father can be a klutz at times but that is why my mother and I love him so much," the Pride Lander cub laughed softly. "So you chased a grasshopper out here? They are a lot of them here, sometimes when we get here early, my Dad teaches me to pounce with them. I, myself, can catch them with ease."
He purred confidently as his chest puffed a bit. Not in his usual code, but he did not know many to talk about him. At least not yet.
"Oh.... I am sorry that I was the one you got to meet for all of your troubles."
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:44 am
She shifted, wondering why he didn't call her by her name, but she supposed it was a courtesy. Maybe that was how the adults talked to one another when they had to be polite, and Zeki had a one up on her as far as manners went. Besides, she had never been this polite with another cub before and she still wasn't sure if he was doing it because of who she was or because of who he was. Scrunching her nose for a moment, she hesitated before speaking and quickly smiled when he moved closer. She hardly wanted to offend him, he seemed like a nice enough cub. "I certainly meant it as one."
Smiling, she looked around, "Your father is here?" She didn't meet adult males much, other than her father. And Wahabu, but she hadn't seen him since she met him yesterday. Her scarlet eyes soon returned to the cub when no male lion peeked his head up from the grass. She supposed her meant his statement as a point of pride, and she shrugged gently, her smile soft as she purred in return, "I've caught plenty of grasshoppers with ease as well, but sometimes it's more entertaining to let them lead you places." She'd found a mouse that way a few evenings ago. It was injured, so the kill was easy and the fun following lasted til nightfall. She nodded slowly, "But I'm sure you and your father have caught much bigger things, if you're out here with him so much." She could only imagine having a father there all the time to teach things, but the only adult friend she had was Wahabu and even he had admitted he was still working on his hunting.
"I'm glad to have met anyone at all, but you are very much worth it, Zeki."
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:00 am
"Well, my father just left, I came for a drink and here I find a pretty girl like you here. If I was not worried that my Dad would freak out if I returned late, I would offer to stick around more and possibly offer to take you back to Pride Rock."
He chuckled a bit and relaxed some as he got to know her more bit by bit. She seemed like a sweet girl and polite in her own way. He had his Code, taught to him by his uncle with some of his own things thrown in, that he followed. Zeki could remember whenever his Dad went off to hunt alone, he was left behind to do either nothing or hunt small game like mice or rabbits.
"My Dad's a good guy, he takes me running with him, he teaches me to pounce and we play a lot too, talks to me about things like how I should act and the do's and don't's. He has even taken me places outside of these places to meet my uncles. My Mom says we are a lot alike, but I don't see it much."
In fact, Ger and Zex were a lot alike, more than he knew. They did things very similar like clean themselves, shake themselves of water, the same smile, the same laugh, even the generic cow-lick too, they ran together and fell asleep beside one another and snore just the same. Like father like son.
Zeki puffed his chest at her comment and smiled.
"I am very glad I also got to met you too, Safuma. Maybe we could be friends, y'know?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:11 am
Fighting a blush underneath all the comments of her being 'pretty', she smiled almost shyly and dipped her head. "I appreciate the thought anyways, Zeki. I promise I'll be careful heading back on my own, though. No need to worry your da." Grinning, her tail swished from side to side in the grass as she listened to him.
She liked his cub. He was very nice, and though she was still getting to know him she was eager to see him again. When he spoke of his father, she frowned gently, "My Da doesn't have time to do alot of that with me. We do sometimes, but not very often." Shrugging, she silently supposed that was the way of things. She had been born not only into a big family, but into a big family with a lot of big responsibilities. Individual attention could not always be awarded daily.
Saf didn't know who she was most like in her family, but she knew she got along best with Zu, even if she was a little wierd sometimes. She wondered where Zu was and if she could be coaxed into playing with Saf. Zeki, having to get back to his father, was not a likely play companion today.
"I'd like that very much, Zeki. If you and your da ever get bored, will you come visit me at Pride Rock?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 11:27 am
"Pride Rock? We live in a big den just nearby there. My father is from there, but he does not live there. He'd rather be with the family than in a crowded place I suppose, but sure, I will asked my Dad to visit you up there some time. If not, then I can come by myself."
He smiled and chuckled softly as he took in the other female's form, remembering it, recognizing it until the next they met. His head shook quickly as he felt a cold feeling run up his spine, another one? Zeki occasionally got weird feelings but pushed them aside since nothing ever happened when he got them. A habituation behavior perhaps, but it happened some times.
"Well, if your Dad has no time for you, maybe we could hang out some time and play some. My Dad always told me I should be around those of my own age and I should act my age. I don't really know what he means, but he is my father and he knows best."
The shoulder marked cub hopped onto his feet and quickly stretched his back with a soft 'pop'. Shaking out his fur, he looked back up at the other female and grinned.
"It was nice meeting you, Safuma. Please get back to Pride Rock safely."
With a final dip of his head, he slowly disappeared into the tall grass to head home.
....
Not even a moment later, he returned quickly with a childish laughter.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Not a lot of people call me this, but you can. Call me Zex next time if you feel like it is better suited. Good-bye, mis-I mean, Safuma."
With that said, he smiled and disappeared once again.
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:04 pm
Her scarlet eyes widened with pleasure as he spoke. He lived closed by? That was wonderful. Not many of her new found friends lived near Pride Rock. Nsundu was a rogue cub and she didn't really know where Lio lived, though he was around enough that it must be close. Smiling brightly, her head nodded in a quick rhythm, "I'd like that very much, Zeki. All of it."
Watching him stretch, she reached out as if to bat as his tail but was no where near enough. Shrugging and offering a soft smile, she purred, "Nice to meet you, too. I'll see you around. And I promise, I'll be safe as could be."
She turned to leave a few moments after he did, letting her hind legs unfold and feeling the dirt beneath her paw pads. When he suddenly poked his head out from the grass, she jumped slightly and turned to look at him. Laughing, she called out as he left, "Thanks Zex!"
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