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 Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:56 am
“So where are we going anyways, Zeki?” The larger lion spoke as his teal eyes looked up upon his head where the one known as ‘Zeki’ resided. The larger male, strong and powerful, was the father, his ear flicking when his son’s paw slipped from the furry grip and sliding over them. Ger gave a rather annoyed expression, no real emotion behind it, as the son went on giving him directions.
“Over there, she said that she lived at Pride Rock. Remember, I’ve told you that at least twice and even then you forgot,” The cub mewed as he pressed down hard on his father’s head making him dip a bit as he pointed out with his paw in the direction he wanted to go. “Seriously, Dad, I sometimes wonder if you even remember when you met Mom. I just hope I don’t become as forgetful as you are.”
“Are you sure you are following your ‘code’ because you shouldn’t be degrading me like that.”
“Maybe, maybe not. The point is you got to remember things more. What if I told you I had a close friend of mine coming over to visit the night before to have you laying on the rock snoring,” scoffed the son. “Then again, I would be right there with you snoring just the same. Everyone says we are a lot alike, huh?”
“Of course we are, I am your father and you are my son. It is how things work here. At least, that is what I always thought,” Ger shrugged as he jerked his head left and right as he stood at the base of Pride Rock. “So where is this “girl” you are meeting. Am I suppose to stick around or just drop you off here?”
“No, no, I told Safuma that I would introduce you to her. I am not ready to break any promises yet and not any for a very long time,” he whined, not very childishly but more playfully than anything else. “Uncle Trig told me that “you should never make a promise if you cannot keep it. Otherwise it would just be a waste of breath and a lie to the one you are making it to.” Besides that, I don’t want to lie to my friend.”
“Ah, a friend she is to you, huh? That’s interesting. Just don’t go around pulling something like your other Uncles, alright? I’d rather not have to come to bail you out of trouble.” I really need to stop taking him to the beach to meet Trig….
“Hehe, thanks Dad. But yeah… I consider her my friend, that’s okay, right? Besides, I can take care of myself, Uncle Trigger taught me how to take care of myself and those around me if I needed to.”
The two conversed at the bottom of Pride Rock, almost forgetting about the whole reason they came there in the first place. When Ger and Zeki got to talking it sounded like an argument or a debate but in truth it was just a normal discussion between the two. Then again, it depends on the definition of the word. Ger enjoyed the time he had with his son only because he was his only child. He enjoyed cubs; the feeling bloomed when he looked after Kujack and Aysha’s litter of hybrids, his siblings. They crawled on him, played with him, everything; he grew quite attached to the idea when he experienced his ‘Dad’ and Aysha with his ‘family’. What if family but the ones that love you and take care of you? Zeki was lucky to be able to spend a lot of time with his father. From what he heard from Safuma, he felt bad that she could not do the same thing. Maybe one day he could fix that.
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 7:32 am
Her ears perked, pressing forward as she heard Zex's voice carry on the wind, accompanied by the sound of the large male's responses. A smile pulled across her features and as soon as the realisation of who it was settled in, she was to her feet in an instant. Leaping to the stony staircase, she trampled down it's sturdy expanse until she slid to a halt before the trio. Her hind legs folded as her rump slid a very short distance over the sand, but she was most definitely no worse for wear and looked extremely excited as she bounced to her feet and closed the distance between the three of them. She stopped a few feet away, crimson eyes bright as she looked up at the cub.
"Hello Zex!" She looked at Ger, taking in his large features. He was one of the biggest males she'd come into contact with that wasn't her father. Wahabu was still an adolescent, but this male was most definitely full grown. A real grown-up. Her eyes were wide, "Hi, I'm Safuma." Politeness was forgotten, overrun by cubbish awe.
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:55 am
"Name's Ger, pleased to meet you, Safuma."
Ger replied, dipping his head down. In doing so, Zeki lost his grip and fell forward, luckily with Ger's reflexes, was caught in his maw to be placed down easily.
"And from what I have heard, you have already met my son, Ze-hey, wait a minute, why does she get to call you 'Zex' and I can't? That's a bit unfair, don't you think?"
Zeki rubbed his neck at the sudden jerk of his scruff, loose skin or not the force of the bite and fall made a rather painful combination. His crimson eyes settled on the female but kept his attention wide to his father. No one called him Zex, so far, only Uncle Ez and Safuma were allowed to. If anyone called him Ezekiel, he'd ignore them unless the tone used was stern and serious in which case he was in trouble. No one called him Zex but a selected few, not even his father was not suppose to call him that. Calling him by that name without permission met complete block. Great selective hearing. Zeki smiled and purred.
"That is because you don't know what it means, Dad," Ger rolled his eyes and sat down himself. "Safuma, this is my Dad. Dad this is my friend, Safuma."
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 9:10 pm
"Pleased to meet you too, Mister Ger. Yeah, I met Zex the other day..." She trailed off at the sudden outburst, looking between Ger and Zex for fear she'd made some error. It soon became obvious, though, that it was no error of her own.
She tilted her head at the other cub, unsure if even she knew what it meant. Her own scarlet eyes looked at the young male, bright with curiousity thought she said nothing. Her own purring joined his, though, and she looked to the large male again, smiling in her awe as she looked him over once more. He was as big as TaZiyan, if not bigger, but without the two standing side by side, she wouldn't be able to tell for sure. Looking to Zeki, she grinned, "You two already have a good walk?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 9:40 pm
"Dad and I ran this morning out to the water hole to the southern border and back home again before sun rise. We just walked here as a time to chat really. We do that sort of thing a lot," Zeki chuckled and moved closer to her, leaving the comfort zone of his father in an attempt to create another with this other cub as a friend. "Do you do anything with your father?"
"Now, Zeki, you should know that it is not your business to ask someone abou their personal life and their relations with their parents. Ta and Kami are the new lions upon the throne. They are quite busy."
Ger did not want to say it, especially not before this cub, the daughter of the new queen and her mate and the grandchild of the late king and queen. To many Mufasa and Sarabi were the king and queen, Ger saw them as that as well, but to him, they were Uncle Mufasa and Aunt Sarabi. Being born of only a mother and no father about, he made up a family of what he was able to. Knowing that he was gone since cub hood, never seeing much of them at all.... it heart breaking to discover that the only male figure in his young life was gone and the second mother was also with him. He cannot see Kami and Ta as the new king, in his heart Mufasa and Sarabi will always rein over the Pride Lands. But he would still show them the respect. They left Kami as the heir to take over and he must respect their wishes.
"So, Safuma. You are the daugher of Kami and Ta, correct? Word gets around rather quickly around here so don't be too surprised. How have things been going on around here?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 10:05 pm
For a moment she hesitated. She hadn't really considered the fact that Ger or Zex might know her lineage, for though the two of them were very polite, she had come to the conclusion that that was just... Zex and Ger. She liked it, because they still left it open on whether or not she had to be polite as well. After a second or two, she decided that she should have known Ger to know her parents, being that he was an adult and much more likely to know such things. The two didn't seem likely to treat her any different, so she continued on as normal.
"No, Da's busy, I guess. He was gone before I got up." She shrugged, but looked to Ger when he asked her his questions. "Yessir. I'm the oldest." She didn't mention that she had not been named heir, assuming that if word gets around quickly that that was already known as well. It was a fact that Safuma didn't take lightly so didn't talk to many about it. "Good, I guess. I don't really know much about the grown-up type things, but I think everything is great." She smiled broadly at him.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:38 am
"That's good to hear, Safuma. It must be nice living with so many brothers and sisters, but remember, you are the oldest and you should keep an eye on them. The way I see things, if anything happened to them usually the oldest get blamed," Ger chuckled jokingly. Though it may be true or not, Ger had his fair share of blame for whatever the leopons did. Oh well, he accepted it regardless.... for he always got them back later for it. Ger could not help but scratch his head. What would someone of such nobility want to speak with someone from the other side of the family tree? That was how things went right? Best not to bother with them, from the looks of Zeki, he seemed really happy here. "Well, at least you are around those of your age."
Zeki looked up at his father, a bit confused. Was that directed at him.... or for her? He shrugged it off promptly and smiled at her.
"So what do you want to do today? Play, wrestle, run, adventure somewhere -"
"- a nice good walk," Ger finished. Safuma is an heir of the new queen, she should not be hurt or anything. Was it fear that his son may be punished if something were to happen to Safuma? Play was alright if he was around. Wrestling was risky. Running, as long as he ran with them. Adventuring is totally out of the question. He remembered when he took Trina to the Elephant Graveyard, they almost lost their lives in there... and after that, he disappeared from the Pride Lands. He won't let that happen to his son. "A good walk sounds nice."
"Why are you going to follow us?"
"No, not as long as you stay on the marked path where you are safe. Please stay out of trouble, Zeki," though, he has not even gotten into trouble yet.
"Oh Dad, stop being a worry wart, I won't do anything unless Safuma wants to," Zeki smiled to her. "So what do you say? Want to do anything?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:48 am
She tilted her head as well, looking up at Ger when he spoke of 'those their age' and wondering who he was talking to, exactly. As for the other bit, she shrugged, "I don't really see them all together much. I see Mzuza the most, and sometimes Sarakiva or Akida, but they're usually off on their own. Akida thinks he's a grown up or something, is learning all the important heir stuff." For that she was glad she had not been named heir.
Shrugging, she looked to Zeki as her mouth dropped open in a wide smile, "An adventu-..." She was cut off by Ger's interjection, crimson eyes darting up towards him in her confusion. She had had plenty of adventures with other cubs, and attempted to wrestle with Mzuza (though her sister wasn't exactly keen on such fun). Her tail swayed gently as she listened to the two, wondering what exactly this new lion had to worry about. He was big, and if he was close enough to hear one of their calls, she knew he would come. Any of the nannies would come if they heard a cub's cries, too. They were safe enough.
When Zeki smiled at her, she looked to him once again and let her smile spread into a bit of a beam, "A walk sounds good. For a warm up."
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:56 am
Zeki smiled and got to his feet, bowing a bit as if a courtsy, moving his paw in a swaying motion.
"Ladies first."
Ger could not help but chuckle a bit as he got to his own feet and mimicked his son the best he could without falling over. He was not the most graceful lion, but than again, that gracelessness is what got him to meet the love of his life after all. Ger smirked, moving his paw over to knock the son onto his side leaving him rather dumbfounded.
"Does m'lady want a lift upon a strong, fast male?"
Zeki shot a glare at his father. He only does that sort of thing to show up his son, more like a motivator to get his son to be the same or even surpass him to become stronger and faster. With all the work that he and the Uncles have put into him, teaching him, training him, he had to be better than his father when he grew up, right?
"Or does, "m'lady" wish to walk along side a normal male?"
Low blow.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:04 am
She smiled and pulled herself up as Zeki spoke, laughing quietly as she took a step forward so that she was even with the two of them. "Why thank you." But the ensuing action left her mildly confused once more and she arched her brow daintily. It was obviously always going to be an adventure with these two, but Safuma found she preferred that to them being predictable by far. Maybe someday she would come to expect certain things, but for now it was a little adventure in and of itself.
Laughing at Ger, she lifted her head as high as she could in the perfect picture of mock feline superiority. "Either if he thinks himself worthy, even, to accompany me but I prefer to walk between the two." She dropped the act for a moment to add, in explanation, "More protection that way." She could also launch a surprise attack from the inside that way.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:16 am
When she made that pose and that comment of them being unworthy just made their jaws drop simultaneous then pouting a bit. However, that did not last long as they broke out into laughter. These two could almost never take anything seriously for long. The two stood by her side and smiled at her. Though, both had different reasons.
"So I guess we are your personal entourage for this little walk, no?" Ger chuckled as his tail flicked restlessly behind him as his mane fell over his eyes from time to time, and that annoying cowlick just stuck out from the middle of his forehead.
"Nah, we are her personal body guards!" Zeki countered, his tail doing the same as he stood up strong and bold. The only bit of mane he had was a single, small cowlick that stuck out from just right of his forehead. It was most likely from Ger's genetics or something since whatever he did, it would never stay down.
Father and son nodded as they took the first few steps of their little walk.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:20 am
Stepping with them, she looked from one to another. It always felt good to make new friends, but it was even better to play with friends she had already made like Zeki. Ger was new, but that just made it all that much more fun. Besides, having an adult for a friend would probably have it's own advtantages, though she didn't know it yet. She beamed at each of them in turn, "Both!"
Safuma had no cowlick, though her tail swayed just the same, occasionally flicking against one lion's tail or the other. They were like the muskateers, striking out on the world. But Safuma wouldn't know that, she didn't know who the muskateers were. She was just content to have something to do at last. "Did you meet anyone else when you were running?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:26 am
"You mean during our runs or just the one today?" Zeki asked softly as he flicked his tail against her just as she was coming back at him.
"Well, we have met a lot of lions on our runs, it just depends on what sort of runs you are talking about. Zeki here has been to a lot of places. We have gone to the rogue lands that surround the Pride Lands, the beach, the Ngorogoro Crater, near the Elephant Graveyard into the Maziko. We met a lot of lions, his Uncles, some old friends, and just recently a lion from here named 'Kota," Ger spoke. His tail, much larger than the both of the cubs stayed in place only to move with his heavy steps. "But as for the run today-"
"-You are the only one we've met today and I must say, it was worth it." Zeki chuckled as he remembered back to when Safuma had said the very same thing to him when they first met.
"What he said. Just you today, and I am quite glad I have met you. What about you? Did you meet anyone today?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:33 am
Her eyes widened in wonder as they listed all the places they'd gone and the people they'd met. She wanted to do that one day, she felt a yearning in the pit of her stomach to wander the land and wondered where it came from as she walked. Her tail swayed into Zeki's playfully, though her mind was elsewhere. When they spoke to her directly, she grinned, "I'm glad to meet you, too, Ger."
Her smile broadened when she looked to Zeki, remembering when she had said that to him as well. Laughing softly, she shrugged and motioned with her head back towards Pride Rock, "Nope. I've just been sitting up there all day. I thought about going to find Wahabu, or going to the rogue land border to look for my friend Nsundu, but Mzuza was gone and it didn't seem like much of an adventure if I went by myself. Plus I like hearing about Mzuza's different names for places. She's funny, but I don't think she means to be."
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:44 am
"You want to go to the border? That's not a veyr safe place for a cub, if you are gonna go there, I'd suggest taking an adult with you. Once outside the border of the Pride Lands, we would be fair game to anyone. They could take you away, they could even kill you too. Trust me, I've lived in the rogue lands for a large part of my life...."
Ger spoke, a worried expression. She was the oldest of the pride's newest royal litter, what would happen if she died? Or taken away? Who knows what one would do for a royal blooded lion. If anyone knew that he was a bearer of royal blood from both Firekin and Pride Lands... he and his family would be in grave danger.
Zeki chuckled and bumped into Safuma casually, whispering. "(If you want, I'll take you there some day.)" he recollected himself and smiled to her. "Sorry about that, Safuma. I must have hit a rock or something."
Ger smiled and shook his head. Maybe his son had inherited his own gracelessness. "Son, please be careful. You're gonna trip and take us all down with you."
"Really!? I wanna try!"
Ger paused for a moment to hit himself with his paw and quickly caught up with them. What did he do to deserve his son. Oh yeah that's right....
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