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 Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 3:25 am
"I'm telling you old timer, you need help!" The sound of shouting could be heard clearly over the crashing of the waves against the rocks that lined the shore. Zizima had come to this particular beach to get some peace and quiet, as it was one of the more secluded beaches, that could only be reached by coming down a cliff on a rather dangerous path. What he found however, was a severe headache.
"Watch your language!" The shouting continued, as it turned out that the large grey and white lion was arguing with someone. Mzimu snarled and slowly got to his feet, with a certain amount of difficulty. It was easy to tell that he was old, just by the way he spoke, but the way he struggled to move at times only confirmed it. It was also easy to tell, upon closer inspection, that he was blind.
Zizima growled and clawed at the sand with one of his front paws in frustration. He had found the old lion in a cave by the beach, and there was no way he could bring himself to leave him, despite the fact that he didn't care about anyone's well-being. Frowning, he glared at Mzimu. "How do you hunt if you can't see?"
Mzimu let out a loud snort. "My eyes may not work, but my nose and my ears do! I've been doin' everything for myself since before you were born, and I did it all without my eyes." He was looking directly at Zizima, despite his lack of vision. Over the years, his other senses had become super-sensitive, to make up for his blindness.
The half-Firekin was quite impressed by the old lion's determination, but still, he couldn't just leave him like this. "Fine, if you don't want to come with me, at least let me go catch you something decent. I love fish as much as the next lion, but you can't live on that forever." Not even waiting for an answer, Zizima ran off, remembering that he had spotted a heard of zebra just in-land from the beach. He would have to climb back up the cliff and then drag the body back down again, but he would worry about that later.
"I told you, I don't need your help!" The old Ela was clearly very independant, and sounded almost furious as he called after Zizima. Sighing heavily as he heard the other lion's footsteps go out of hearing range, he flopped back down into a lying position, his mint-blue eyes looking out of the sea. He could only imagine what it looked like.
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Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 2:45 pm
A sole figure graced the savannah, a thick air of loneliness hanging all around her. This poor lioness had been in a funk for days now, and something in her gut told her that it must mean something. And she was right. Yesterday marked the day her sister had drowned, so many years ago in her homeland. She was oblivious to this of course. Lions didn't exactly carry calendars or diaries. But she ached all over and felt so markedly different that she chose to avoid as much contact as possible. Isilahi hated to make a bad impression, and anyone meeting her now would think her a miserable creature indeed.
Her stagnant mood had made her senses numb, and it wasn't until a brisk and sudden breeze whooshed into her face that she realised she had strayed far from the wide open plains. She was now closer to the coastline. And that meant closer to...water.
For a brief moment, Isilahi revelled in the gentle breeze. It was glorious, and so wonderfully fresh and cool. Then, as her eyes opened and wakened her to the real world, she saw the sea. A vast, gurggling nightmare, flooded with her sister's haunting eyes. She began to hyperventilate, eyes widening in total terror.
And then she saw it. A prone mass on the beach below.
"Oh my God!" she screeched, almost as if she had been taken back in time.
With speed she didn't think she could summon, she hugged the plain's edge until she found a way down, hopping gracefully from crag to crag as she descended the cliff face. That final jump she landed with a girly 'oof' and then raced over to Mzimu.
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 3:10 am
Mzimu's ears twitched and rolled backwards as he heard a very distressed voice, followed by the sound of rocks crumbling and dirt crunching underneath a set of heavy paws. Although he couldn't quite make out what the voice had said, it didn't take him long to figure out that the owner of the voice was making their way towards him.
With a low growl in his throat, he rolled on to his stomach and heaved himself up into a standing position. Still growling, he turned to face the direction from which the voice had come from. Just as he turned, a loud thud came to his attention, which was followed by the sound of sprinting paws, struggling to move quickly in the sand.
"Who goes there?" He roared, bearing an old but complete set of fangs. Unfortunatly, he greeted everyone with such tact.
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Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:52 am
It moved! The dark blurry mass she had spied from the cliff-top, thinking it to be a poor drowned soul, actually stood to its feet and even had the strength to roar a warning.
Isilahi came to a sudden halt, lashing up sand as her tail swished about. She breathed an audible sigh of relief, and even chuckled slightly at her own foolishness.
"Oh...you're alright...I-I thought...well...nevermind," she shrugged off the ending, preferring not to reveal her silly little fears to a total stranger.
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Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 3:01 am
The frown on Mzimu's face softened as he realised that it was a female that had been approaching, and she had only done so out of concern. It wasn't a concern that he welcomed though. "Of course I'm alright!" He was quite sure that the female wasn't aware that he was blind, but even so, he always rejected any concern or sympathy that was ever directed at him, and this time was no different.
After deciding that the female wasn't a threat, he slowly turned back towards the sea and flopped down once more. He wasn't as young as he used to be, so he didn't see the point in standing up for the sake of idle chatter. Hopefully, the female would just leave him in peace.
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Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 2:13 pm
Isilahi was rather taken aback at the grumpy lion's response. She was just trying to help, and it wasn't her fault that her eyes deceived her...or was it her mind? Maybe...she wanted to see a drowned lion, or a near-drowned lion, a second chance to save a life...but she'd never know the answer to these silent questions. They didn't plague her for long.
"I was only trying to help...I thought you might have...drowned," she struggled to say.
She circled the old male, wishing to talk to a face rather than a backside. Only upon seeing his weathered face did she realise he was blind. Those milky white orbs told no lies.
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 2:49 am
(( @~@; Sorry for the long wait Amy, I totally fell out of my RP schedule thingy... ))
The large lion scoffed, roughly shaking out his mane as he did so. "Me? Drown? You must be joking!" For an old beast, although his body language didn't show it very well, his legs were all quite muscular. Unknown to the female, Mzimu spent just about as much time in water as he did on land. He couldn't swim quite as fast anymore, but he could still catch himself a fish or two. His independance was quite remarkable, especially with his disability.
Of course, none of this was known to the lioness, which was one thing Mzimu always seemed to forget when meeting others for the first time. He automatically assumed that they were going to pity him, and he didn't want any of that. His ears rolled round on his head as they followed her footsteps, until she was stood in front of him. He frowned slightly, his gaze not moving a single inch.
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 8:35 am
Isilahi was still fixed upon his apparent disability, although some part of her questioned just how blind he was. If he could swim, as his comment would suggest, then surely he wasn't totally blind. She felt silly for even thinking about what she did next, especially since it was a little insensitive.
She waved a paw in front of his face.
His eyes didn't seem to follow the movement, as was automatic of most lions who could see. But maybe he was just a sage old actor.
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 12:04 pm
Although Mzimu couldn't see the female's paw, he could feel the ever so slight breeze that it caused as it passed his face a couple of times. His muzzle curled back in a deep scowl, revealing a set of slightly yellowing fangs. "Didn't your parents ever teach you to respect your elders?"
Still scowling, his head perked up a little as he caught a familiar scent on the air, which soon caused his scowl to deepen. "Great, here comes the other one." He muttered, glancing in the direction from where the scent had blown in.
Zizima wasn't yet in sight, as he carefully but forcefully made his way down the cliff, with what looked like a baby zebra clutched in his mouth. By his standards, it was no more than a snack, but he figured that anything would make a better meal than a fish for the cranky old geezer he had found.
When he reached the bottom, he glanced towards where he had left Mzimu, immediatly spotting the female as he did so. She didn't seem to be a threat though, from that distance anyway, so he took his time making his way over.
"I hope you appreciate this old timer." He muttered after dropping the zebra carcass at the old lion's side. Having done that, he barely gave the female a second glance as he sat himself down to clean the blood off his front paws. Considering the severe amount of scars on his back, one wouldn't think that the very large lion was interested in personal appearence.
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 4:10 am
Isilahi grimaced, and immediately recoiled into herself, feeling rather ashamed of her actions. The fact she had been caught by the elder lion made things worse. In her moment of reflection, the other male wasn't noticed by her until he had come right by her side and plopped the baby zebra onto the sand.
It gave her a slight start, and she only hoped he hadn't noticed. She was about to scold the large male, but thought better of it considering his size and his physical 'medals' of battle.
She remained silent in the presence of Zizima and forgot all sense of propriety. She just stared at him for the longest time, soaking in any and all details of his physical being. And then she looked toward Mzimu. Were they related?
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:15 am
A deep growl radiated in Mzimu's throat. He would've lashed out at the younger male, if not for the presense of the female. "I told you, I don't want your charity." He managed to utter through gritted teeth.
The one and only reason he had travelled to the coast was to get away from all those that felt sorry for him. Yet even here, he found himself being treated as if he were a cub, who was incapable of feeding himself.
Zizima rolled his eyes, and glanced at the female, just in time to see her staring at him. He frowned lightly, but continued to lick his left paw until it was clean, before he lowered it. "Are you a friend of his?" He said, motioning towards Mzimu. He was hoping she was, as it meant he could leave the ungrateful old beast without feeling bad about it.
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:15 am
Isilahi was still trying to figure out the scene that played before her somewhat naive eyes. There was a definite bitterness between the two males - the elder, for being treated like a baby, and the younger, for feeling obliged to help the old lion. At least thats what it looked like.
"Hmmm?" he concentration was broken. Only when his question had rolled around her head a few more times did she react with surprise. "Ummm...no, aren't you?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:01 am
"Does it look like we are?" Zizima replied, a hint of frustration mixed in with his already deep and negative-sounding tone of voice. "I only came down here for a bit of peace and quiet, and I found him." He again motioned towards the old lion, frowning lightly. "He won't even tell me his name."
The scarred lion got to his feet soon after, content now to leave the old lion in the care of the female, whether she wanted to or not. "No way I'm hanging around here." With that, he started to walk away.
"Coward." Mzimu looked over his shoulder, in the direction of where Zizima had gone. "You would leave this female here rather than finish what you started? Pathetic." The old lion shifted his weight and turned back towards the female. "My name is Mzimu."
Zizima stopped dead in his tracks. The old lion's words didn't bother him in the slightest, but he was right that it was wrong to leave the female there to take care of the old guy herself. Growling at the conscience that hadn't been present for the majority of his life, he turned back.
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 11:56 am
Isilahi was aghast at the large male's rude behaviour. She could almost expect it of the old male, considering his disability and how the younger generation treated him (including herself). But poor Isil. As much as she had wandered in her life, she had met few lions, hence why Zizima's brusque offended her so.
She was about to go after Zizima, not one to let a dispute just lie. But Mzimu interjected first, and shared her sentiments exactly.
"A pleasure to meet you Mzimu, I'm Isilahi," she replied politely, but with a hint of smugness that came only with the childishness of youth.
The old male had given her his name first time. She smirked in the direction of Zizima but was mildly surprised to see that he'd stopped in his tracks. And turned around. That smug smile disappeared quickly.
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 4:30 am
"Zizima." That was all the brooding lion said as he walked back to the pair, stopping just ahead of them. So much for a peaceful day at the beach.
Mzimu however, for the first time since meeting the younger lions, managed to crack a smile, albeit small. He was aware at how harsh he could be towards others at first, so he always tried his best to give them a break, if he thought they deserved it. Isilahi certainly did, despite her earlier actions. "So my dear, what brings you to this beach?"
While Isilahi and Mzimu conversed, Zizma watched the two, commiting both their appearences to his rather large collection of memories. He had met many different creatures over the years, and in all that time, he had never settled and considered making friends of any of them. This time was no different.
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