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 Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 5:44 pm
The youngster's ego was too large to allow him to ask for help from his aunt. It was almost a sure thing that his mother wouldn't help him, but her sister was a kindly soul. He just didn't want to show a leopard that he was in need of help, even if they were related. If he was going to climb this thing - no, when he climbed it, he would do it on his own. Of that, he was sure. There had to be a trick to it, and that was why he was just staring. Perhaps a bit of stud would show the answer.
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 5:59 pm
 Kizuka'Mchopozi flew through the jungle trees with perfect grace- how she loved the feeling of the tree branches bending under her weight. There was absolutely no place like the jungle too. So many options for the next move... If she hadn't been moving so fast she would have felt the shudder of pleasure go down her spine. It was almost as thrilling as taking things from someone else. As she flew, something down on the ground caught her eye- not because it smelled like food, and not because it had some shiny pebble, but because it was a terribly bright color- purple. She slowed down and perched in the canopy of a neighboring tree, looking down at the thing.
Another hybrid... she thought to herself with curiousity. They were becoming popular, the second one in the month... Though this one was obviously not a cheeton, and was obviously part leopard.
"Hello there," Kizu called, laying down comfortably on the tree branch, head resting on her crossed paws. "What's a little one like you doing out here all alone?" she asked, hoping that maybe the cub would have something of vaule with him.
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 6:10 pm
Mezi's eyes grew wide in surprise as the graceful leopardess made her way through the branches towards him. Half of him wanted her to stop and talk a while; the other half wanted her to stay her distance as to not notice him. Compared to her, he was nothing, and it bothered him immensely. Her voice floated down to him like somerthing from a dream. He had half a mind to simply not reply. Maybe if he didn't move, she wouldn't see him and find out what he really was. Did he look like a leopard cub or a lion cub? He'd never seen either, so he had no way of knowing.
After a few moments of awkward silence, he pushed off the tree and into a sitting position. "I can take care of myself." It was sort of a lie. After all, he couldn't hunt at all, and he didn't know how to climb. For his age, though, he was a bit on the self-sufficient side. At least, in matters of keeping safe.
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 6:19 pm
She waited while the cub thought about what to do, apparently, before she decided to make her way back to the tree's trunk and bolt her way down, landing on the ground with a light, but solid thud.
"I'm sure you can take care of yourself," said, sitting down a respectable distance from the cub. She didn't want to scare him off, after all.
No meat, and as of now, nothing extraordinarily shiny... she thought to herself as she went through the traditional "checklist" of things to take from another creature- he had no objects of value.
"My name is Kizuka'Mchopozi. I know it's a long name, so you can call me Kizu," she introduced. "And who might you be?" She asked.
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 6:46 pm
He wasn't sure if she meant the comment sarcasticly or not, and felt a need to defend himself. He could take care of himself, darn it all. Just before challenging her remark, he thought better of it. Best not loose his cool in front of a leopard. Taking a deep breath, he managed a light smirk. "I'm Mezi. Pleased to meet'cha." He flitted his tail a little, wondering if she had noticed yet. Did she know he wasn't a full leopard? If she did, she hadn't let on quite yet. Hopefully, she didn't know what a leopon looked like, and was just assuming he was a leopard like she was. "So... you live around here?" He'd never seen her before, and he was sure he'd remember if he had. Then again, he was pretty young, and hadn't met any leopards other than his mom and aunt. Hopefully, that would change soon, though. This leopardess was as good a start as any.
A sudden thought occurred to him while he sat there. If she climbed up the tree at any point, he could watch her do it. Then he'd see how to climb! He wouldn't ask how, of course, only watch. He had to get her to go up that tree and come back down again some how...
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 2:00 pm
"I live where ever I am on any particular day..." she said smoothly. She rose and stretched coolly. "Although, I do visit the jungles often. They're the best place for a leopard. Lots of trees," she said looking skyward. She had her "base" tree a bit further into the jungle, and she guarded it well. It was where she stashed all of her stolen trinkets. She'd never tell a soul about where her tree was, though, or where in her tree she kept them.
"How about yourself, do you live around here?" She asked.
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 4:34 pm
"Ah yes," the youngster said with a slight air of confidence, "the trees are great for us leopards." Perhaps she hadn't noticed his lack of full blood yet. Or the fact that he couldn't even get up a tree at his age. Neither were things to be proud of, and if he could, he would keep her from knowing about them. "I live nearby with my family. They need me, y'know." He smiled proudly, even though it was hardly true. When he was older, he planned to stay in the jungle and not really wander like this leopardess seemed to. He was fond of his jungle home and all the plants that lived in it. All he needed to do was master the art of climbing and he'd be set to stake out his own tree to keep as a territory when he left Ma. Breifly, he wondered if his siblings planned to leave the lush green paradise. Never one to dwell on family, however, the thoughts slipped away from his mind quickly.
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 7:41 pm
"Yes," Kizu said smugly to his comment about the trees. The cub must not want her to know he was a half-breed. Fine, she'd play along with this one. The last half-and-half had been a touch traumatized after she taunted him the slightest bit.
"I see. What do you do for them? Are you a powerful hunter?" she asked sincerely. Perhaps he had a weak mother, or no mother or father at all! However, where there was weakness, there was almost always something to be taken. She'd stay sharp for a while to make sure there wasn't anything valuable that she'd overlooked.
"My family was very independent. It was just me and my mother... she let me live on her land and if I got to the point of starvation she'd feed me. Other than that, I was on my own from day one," She said, reminiscing. That was, in her opinion, how each leopard should be raised.
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 12:08 pm
Mezi coughed a little, trying to buy some time. The young leopon had only caught small lizards and a helpless baby bird in his short lifetime. He was an independent soul and all, but just one that hadn't been around the block enough times to completely live on his own. "I hunt for myself when I want food. Ma brings us stuff from time to time, and my aunt helps out... but Ma doesn't like us much, since we're related to Dad." The only things he had ever heard about his father were bad ones. A lion and a god, the adult had to be the most dispicable character in the savannah.
"Don't get me wrong." The youngster corrected himself cooly. "She loves us in her own way. She just... doesn't like our genes." He chose the words carefully. In his cub mind, the adult leopardess was truely in the unknown about his mixed species. He didn't exactly want to give it away due to conversation about mothers.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:10 pm
"That's the way to be raised," she said as if she was the expert on parenting. "Have very little to do with the parents from the start- makes you stronger for when you have to be on your own."
She kept a chuckle to herself at the mention of genes. Yes, that had been what the cheeton cub had thought. Except his mother was fine with it, it was he himself who he had been fighting with.
"Well, lots of things can happen to make a mother dislike a father. Disloyalty, annoying family, personality quirks.... the list goes on!" She exclaimed. "I personally wouldn't ever have a mate. Too much of a hassle. A leopard should only have to worry about itself, and no others. You know?" She asked the cub, tilting her head a little bit. She couldn't imagine having to share her treasures with someone else. An almost-silent growl came from her throat at the thought of it.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 2:58 pm
Mezi was honestly a little confused with what the leopardess was saying, but shrugged it off. He had never met his father, but his mother did care for them. After all, she fed them when they were hungry, and they lived with her and their aunt... She was just a bit rough on them sometimes. Okay, maybe a lot of the time. Either way, it didn't matter much.
He wasn't entirely sure if is father had done anything to his mother to make her hate him. All he knew was that the male was a god and a lion, two things Ma disliked to an extreme. As far as he knew, that was it. He dropped the topic completely when he heard the adult mention something about leopards and then asking if he 'knew'. The young leopon grew excited all over. Had she just referred to him as a leopard? He wasn't totally certain, but just the possibility that an adult leopardess had even for a second talked about exclusively leopardish things with him was enough to make him giddy. "Yeah. When I find my own tree, that's what it'll be like. I'll be able to do it all by myself. Don't need anybody to help me, either. I might even collect some flow-" He cut himself off on that one. Of all of his little personality quirks, his love of flowers was by far what he found most embarassing. He wasn't about to tell Kizu about it.
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Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 2:37 pm
((Sorry about how long this took! *kicks RL* ))
Kizu was a bit confused when the cub cut himself off. She wouldn't press the issue, just as she wouldn't enjoy being pressed about her treasure trove. If the cub didn't want to talk, well, he wouldn't have to. She was glad, for Mezi's sake, that he had caught himself. Perhaps the experience would prevent a future slip of the tongue.
"I'm glad you see things that way," she said. She fervently believed that over-loving one's offspring would ruin them for life. Whether this was true or not was truly a mystery to Kizuka, but she could speak on anything as if she'd been through it. "Do you have an area picked out? It'd be a good idea to get a head start on things. That way, nobody else can claim that land from you, if you get it first and are able to defend it," she advised. It was an odd feeling, talking to someone like this.
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 12:02 pm
The cub had wandered a little in his life, but not too far. His mom wasn't fond of having to hunt them down, and he didn't want to add to her anger, so he usually stayer near her territory. There were a few really nice trees he had looked at, though. "Well... sorta. Mom doesn't like when I get too far away and all, but I've checked out some trees in the area. I've got my eye on a few of them..."
He had yet to climb any of them, of course, due to his severe lack of skillful climbing. He couldn't even manage to scramble to a low branch quite yet. Practice should get him up smaller trees by the time he was a juve, and depending on which side of the family he ended up taking after build wise, he might even scale the large ones by adulthood.
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 2:35 pm
"I see," she chuckled at how smoothly the cub's words had come out. Just as if he was an adult... how cute! However, she couldn't stand the ground any longer. It was so uncomfortable.
"You don't mind if I talk to you from a tree, do you?" she asked. She doubted that one as young as he could climb anyway- she thought back... No, not at his age. She couldn't climb yet at his age, so she doubted he could either. However, she eyed the nearest tree and climbed up it in one greyish-teal blur. She stood on the lowest branch for a moment, (which wasn't very high at all,) and figured out where the most comfy spot would be. She plopped herself down and stared down at him, waiting to see his reaction to her ascent before saying anything else.
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Posted: Thu May 31, 2007 11:39 am
"No... I don't mind at all -" He stammered out the sentence, and it sounded unnatural at best. He shuffled his feet uneasily as the adult moved towards the tree trunk. Well, this would be a grand time to be able to climb. He thought bitterly to himself, wishing he was a bit older. His sister had told him that practicing would make him a pretty good climber by the time he was half way to adolescense, but he had his doubts. All of those thughts were wiped clean from his mind as the grey leopardess glided with incredible ease up the tree. Mezi's jaw opened a little as he watched her in jealous awe. "Wow." He couldn't help but let it escape him. "How long did it take you to climb like that?" He tried not to hint at the fact that he couldn't climb at all, even though he figured a creature so smart as a leopardess wouldve figured that out already.
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