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 Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 9:59 pm
The reluctant rogue lioness was on her way home, but her anxiety was slowing down her return to the Pridelands. It had been days since she'd learned of the king and queen's death, and learned the name of the new queen so she knew who to seek out. Memetuka had made it from the edges of the lands to somewhere between Priderock and the borders, which was about the farthest she'd made it in a long, long time.
"You're making too much of this," she told herself with a sigh, taking a seat and looking up at the late evening sky, "You've always made too much of this." Memetuka was just too used to hiding away and thinking only of herself, it was hard to break that habit. She tried to convince herself to return for her sister, but only could think of herself and how hard it would be for her. This would not do, and Memetuka knew it.
So she sat there, watching the stars appear in the sky one by one.
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:16 pm
It had been only a few days since both Sungura and Cheshi had run into the hungry serval and the young male hare was determined to keep that situation from occurring again. The dark colored hare crouched low within the grass and flattered his ears against the top of his head as he searched around. From what he could tell the grass before them was clear, but the short statured hare did not have much to scan over.
Standing nervously, but not as nervously as Cheshi, the hare's eyes widened. He had been a fool! Not far from them was a large lioness, yellow in color with interesting spot-markings decorating her face and backside. Observing the lioness for only a brief moment, the hare was quick to turn back and report to his companion in a rushed whisper, "Chessshiii... there's a lion!" His eyes were wide. Certainly their last encounter had Sungura on edge.
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:36 pm
It was getting dark, and that was not generally a good time of day for the anxious hare to keep herself hidden. Cheshi stood out very well in the lowest of lights because of her snow-white fur. Surprisingly, the encounter with the serval had not phased Cheshi as much as it had Sungura. As far as the female was concerned, she'd been running from things most of her life- why would that be any different? She was actually a little relieved that now Sungura was being more careful.
However, she was still not as at ease as her companion. Cheshi did her best to stay close to his side as he looked out for potential danger, and quivered when he announced that there was a lion nearby.
"D-does it look hungry?" she asked shakily. Despite being on pridal territory, the lioness was thinner than a well fed pride member might be expected to be. She had a faint rogue look to her, though it would not completely mask her heritage to those who would know what was typical. Meme kept her eyes on the sky, but her thoughts were drawn from her selfishness to her surroundings at the faint sound of grass rustling unnaturally and a whisper. She couldn't help but flick her dark ears to the side and tense as she tried to figure out what it might be.
She wasn't starving, and felt little inclination to chase after something at this time of day while she was supposed to be going to Pride Rock to meet her niece. That didn't mean she didn't want to know if she'd been spotted, after all- she'd been hiding for so long now it was almost natural to her to want to stay hidden away.
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 5:56 pm
Inching forward to get a better look at the lioness, Sungura noticed that she appeared to be merely resting, not looking out for something to snack on. The hare couldn't hold back a sigh of relief as he noticed this. In addition to becoming more careful, the rabbit was also maturing in his many adventures with his friend. He no longer thought of only playing with Cheshi and enjoying himself, but understood the dangers of the savannah and how much Cheshi relied on him. Sungura was hoping to continue to learn and grow and continually have his pale companion at his side.
Adjusting his gaze to Cheshi for a minute, the small rabbit whispered, "Well... it's skinny, but it doesn't look too hungry.." He hoped this was comforting enough, but gulped lightly after saying it. "Maybe we should just turn away and find somewhere else to stay the night..?" he suggested, glancing around them at the easiest getaway.
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 3:20 pm
Cheshi leaned forward with Sungura as he moved to get a better look at the lioness. Her pink eyes widened, allowing for a better view in the dim lighting, trying to determine what she thought the lioness was doing. She nodded slowly when Sunny suggested she didn't look too hungry, agreeing but she couldn't help but wonder if she was just being crafty.
"Maybe we should," she whispered warily, edging back a bit. No chance of trouble if you avoid the potential cause! Better safe than sorry, and all that kind of stuff.
More whispers, she thought. Memetuka was sure of it, though she couldn't actually heard what was being said. It didn't sound too friendly, but not at all threatening. Carefully, the lioness turned her head to where the sound was coming from and quietly took a whiff of the air. The Pridelands was full of scents, but there was definetely a strange smell in the air. Non-lion, possibly prey beast- which would explain the whispers.
"Hmm," Meme murmured to herself, and then slowly got to her feet. There was no indication in the way she walked that she was on the hunt, though she certainly seemed wary. Something small and frightened was no threat to her, she could just walk away.
Just walk away.
But maybe, maybe it would be good practice. She had no worries in talking to someone like this. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea, it could get her up some confidence to get on with this, more practice in being social. That hesitantly decided, Memetuka stepped closer and called quietly, "Hello?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:57 am
Sungura nodded and began to take a few steps back as well. It would not do if they made a great amount of assumptions and found themselves wrong. A hungry lioness could easily snatch the two in a heartbeat. When they were chased by the serval, he had been foolish and they had been lucky. They could not count on their luck to save them each time. They needed to be careful.
Though Sungura was sure they should leave when the lioness stood, he couldn't help but remain rooted where he sat. Not from fear, but from the notion that this lioness was not hungry at all and that she wouldn't mean them harm. "Do you think lions can be friendly?" He whispered to Cheshi. And not long after he questioned her, he heard the voice of the lioness speak out towards them.
Grabbing ahold of Cheshi's paw, like he so often did, Sungura continued to whisper, "We can leave now.. but I think she'd be willing to talk."
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 12:12 pm
If Cheshi could be any paler, she would have become so when the lioness started to move, and then spoke. She clung tightly to Sungura's paw when he reached out, and at first had no answer for if she thought lions could be friendly. She was terrified of the great beasts, and while this one didn't seem like she was hunting, she looked thin enough to be hungry anyway.
"M-maybe- but what if it's a trick?" she asked in a hushed and desperate voice, eyeing Memetula suspiciously.
Memetuka was now close enough to hear the conversation the two hares were having, and did her best to offer a friendly smile. She didn't know how the hares would take it, for if they were truly frightened anything could look sinister! If she was going to get some practice being social, she needed to be more reassuring than that.
"It's not a trick," she said in a quiet voice, trying not to scare them any more, "I just- It's been awhile since I've spoken to others, I was hoping to practice before- eh, just because." Memetuka might be trying out her social skills, but she wasn't about to confess what she needed the practice for. With any luck, she wouldn't make a complete fool of herself when she found the Queen.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:04 am
Sungura thought about what Cheshi was saying, but then put the thought past him. It didn't seem like a feasible answer. "I don't think they hunt like that at all.. why try and trick us, when she could just lunge and eat us?" The thought wasn't all that pleasant, but it was true. Female lions were very skilled huntresses and a black rabbit and a white rabbit were not at all difficult targets in the yellow grass.
Once the man had finished speaking, he noticed Memetuka nearby. With wide eyes, the hare took a step back. Whatever the two hares would do at this point, the lion had already caught site of them. Running would be a mistake. Trembling where he stood, Sungura lifted a paw and waved. When the lion announced that it wasn't a trick, he laughed. "Aha! I told you Cheshi!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 7:07 pm
Cheshi could have passed out from fright when Meme made it quite clear that she's not only heard them, but she had been listening. She did, however, notice that Sunny had a point when he said she could just have lunged out at them- but to the paranoid young hare, that meant nothing about whether or not she was being crafty to get a meal. A glance over the lioness was enough to determine that she looked small, thin and graceful enough (despite the dusty rogue look) to not need to use tricks to catch a meal.
"I guess," she mumbled finally, still not willing to address Memetuka before Sungura did.
The first thing the lioness picked up on in the conversation between the hares was that the dark one was obviously more trusting than the white one, and as a matter of fact, he seemed most likely to trust her. She offered a polite smile, and took a seat in the grass.
"My name is Memetuka," she introduced herself in the same calm and careful voice she'd used before, "You don't have to worry about me, I was hoping, perhaps, to make a friend. What are your names?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 7:28 pm
Sungura, though skeptical about this lion, was willing to offer her his name. Afterall, giving the lioness his name didn't make him any less a prey object than he already was. With a smile and a puff of his chest, the small hare presented himself, "I am Sungura!" And though he was about to introduce Cheshi, he simply grabbed ahold of her paw and attempted to push her forward in order to introduce herself. He knew that she was nervous, but thought it would only get better the more that was spoken between them.
Backing off a bit to give Cheshi space to speak, the hare made sure to remain close behind her. As he awaited Cheshi's response, he continued to look over the lioness. She claimed to want to make friends, but Sungura still didn't understand. Speaking his thoughts out loud, Sungura said, "I thought lions ate hares.." He didn't mean to inspire any ideas, but found himself simply confused about their situation.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 8:08 pm
Cheshi squeaked indignantly when she was pushed forward by Sungura to introduce herself, and were it not for the simple idea that perhaps having a name might make her less appetizing, she would have hidden behind him again. "I'm Cheshi," she murmured politely, and immedaitely moved to get back at Sunny's side so he couldn't leave her alone with the strange lioness that wanted to make friends. When he pointed out that lion's ate hares, she quivered fearfully.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both, Sungura and Cheshi," Memetuka replied politely, swishing her tail behind her gently. She could see it would be not get much easier to win over Cheshi, though it seemed like Sungura had a good influence over her and he was being friendly enough. When he commenting on lions eating hares, and Cheshi started to shake, Memetuka gave a short laugh.
"Lions do, sometimes," she answered honestly, "But I am not hungry, and I wouldn't eat you now that I know who you are."
So Cheshi had been right. Names did make a bit of difference to this predator.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:46 pm
Sungura felt somewhat guilty when he noticed how Cheshi quivered as he pushed her forward. When she backed up into him, however, he attempted to apologise for pushing her away by grabbing ahold of her paw within his own. Instead of how he typically dragged her around, this time he merely held her paw, ensuring that he would stay beside her the whole while the two remained in the lions company.
Though the male hadn't meant to vocalise his inner turmoil, once the lion had answered, he was glad of it. It was clear now that this strange lion indeed only wanted friendship. Now why she couldn't find this amongst the other lions was still unknown to him, but he didn't really mind. Being friends with a lion meant that they had quite a few less predators and a large, yellow, spotted protector.
Smiling broadly, Sungura grinned at the two of them, "So, we're friends now! Do you have anything to eat?" The male was quickly making himself at home where he was.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 1:20 pm
Cheshi calmed down a bit when Memetuka continued to act friendly, even after being given the opportunity to turn vicious at the reminder that they could, in fact, be tasty little treats for her. Not only that, but the lioness seemed to offer proof to the hare's theory that with names, they could not so easily be taken as food. As anyone would be, Cheshi was pleased to be right about something. Even though she would still be wary, she was happy as long as she stuck by Sungura. She was, however, stunned when Sunny suddenly asked about food.
It was becoming very clear to Memetuka that Cheshi was not going to warm up as quickly as Sungura, and even if she did then the male was obviously going to be their voice. She couldn't help but think it was rather cute.
When asked about food, she looked only a little less surprised than Cheshi. From what she knew about hares, they were herbivores- how hard could it really be to get food as a plant-eater? Memetuka took a quick look around. Right now they were in some pretty long grass, and none of it look appealing (though Meme was sure none of it would appear as such to a carnivore like herself).
"It can't be too difficult for you to find food can it?" she asked curiously, looking back at the hares, "I can lead you to a greener spot, if you like, though." One small detour was not going to delay her trip to see the queen too much.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:23 pm
Having spent a great deal of time running from servals and searching desperately for somewhere to hide, the growing hare was becoming hungry. He noticed the shocked expression on Cheshi's face and then decided to clarify, "Well.. I guess talking about food reminded me about how hungry I was.." He laughed lightly. The fact that he had asked the lion about eating them was an awkward question to inspire hunger within him.
Having looked around the area already, Sungura knew that it was surrounded in dead grass. Perhaps during other seasons the grass might become a light shade of green, but at this very moment it was dry and dead. Becoming slightly spoiled in the company of a lioness, Sungura almost expected her to help them find something.. better.
When Memetuka mentioned finding them a greener spot, Sungura beamed. "That sounds perfect!" His large foot tapped the ground appreciatively and then he looked to Cheshi, "I'm sure you're hungry too?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:37 pm
Cheshi could have blushed at the comment about not having a hard time finding food, for the lioness was quite right about that. She wasn't too hungry herself, but she did feel simiarly to Sunny about having been so busy that food was sounding better and better. The shy hare managed a small smile in Sunny's direction, seeming more at ease quite suddenly.
When Memetuka offered to show them a green spot, she glanced over at the lion with her small smile before looking back to Sunny to answer him with a small half-shrug, half-nod. She would eat, if they found something tasty.
"Interesting," Meme commented awkwardly, if only so she would have something to say. It didn't seem right to leave his comment hanging- and it was rather interesting that talking about their own species being used as food could remind him of his own appetite. Perhaps she had made herself some good friends now.
"I'd be happy to show you, the both of you," she said brightly, and got back to her feet to lead them off to an area nearer the border that she visited quite regularly in her time living in this area. Meme knew she had much longer legs than the hares, so to ensure they did not have to run she walked at a decent pace, "This way!"
And off she went.
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