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 Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:49 pm
The sun was low on the horizon, bringing forth a new day with the slow stretch of a sleepy morning. The heat, nevertheless, warmed the back of a large lion where he lay lazily beneath a popular little savannah bush. His tail swatted away the flies as best it could, but other then by the open amber eyes, there was no other indication as to whether the male was sleeping or awake. His gaze was transfixed on a small herd of gazelle that grazed unknowingly so near, but judging by the kill at his side that was mostly devoured, he was by no means interested in a hunt. As he rolled onto his side so that his engorged belly could recieve some relief, a grunt was forced from his lips so that it whuffed the grass. The meat had apparently been some sort of herbivore, but there were no horns nor remaining skin to judge it by. In truth, Jua'Randa had caught the big creature so easily only because it had been injured; the back leg broken so cleanly that one end had jutted cruelly from the infected skin until the predator put the beast out of it's misery.
Easy kill or not, Jua was glad for the full belly and no doubt whatever animal that wandered by soon enough after he left would be glad for the leftovers. As hard as he had tried, he had been unable to finish the entirety of the carcass, though most of the best meat had been eaten. Tendons still clung to the unchewed bones so that the moist blood and bits of muscle glimmered in the sunlight, a delicious meal awaiting vulture or small mammal to devour it's remnants. The male did not mind providing food for the rest of the animal kingdom - so long as his own belly was full.
Rolling once more so that he was upright, the lion licked his claws in a gesture of content. A full belly and he had met two lovely young lionesses the day previous. Conversation after a long period of loneliness, followed by a good meal? What more could one ask for? With a violent flick of his tail, Jua'Randa raised his head so that he could glance over at the gazelle and check their movements. As uninterested as he was in a hunt now, he might chose to follow them for a kill later especially if there were any injured amongst them. He was feeling far too lazy at the moment to pretend to be interested in larger prey.
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:16 pm
 Not that far away from the older lion and what was left of his breakfast, trekked another feline. This one though, was almost the complete opposite of Jua. Tired and hungry, Nyota'Chali was far from content. The small cub had been walking without much rest of several days, still trying to find....well, the male had no idea what he was looking for, but he believed he'd know when he finally found it.
Nyota finally stopped himself, sprawling out tiredly underneath one of the spiny bushes that were usual appearances in the rogue lands. Assuming his practically emaciated form a carcass, flies soon congregated around the cub, an ear twitching pathetically in an attempt to shoo them off. "Leave...me...alone.." Nyota said lightly with a cub's attempt at a growl, as though mere words would keep them away.
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:51 pm
A sound caught his sensitive hearing - a voice! His amber eyes blinked twice before opening wider so that he no longer appeared to be a sleepy and lazy housecat. Was that a little voice, he'd heard? A brave attempt at the growl? Sliding to his feet with the slick sound of fur over fur, his ears flicked before they decided on the source of the noise. It came from so near he was preturbed he hadn't heard the apporach otherwise, but as he rounded the corner his attentative gaze found the exhausted form of a lion cub that appeared quite tiny next to his larger bulk.
Frowning at the apparent tiredness and obvious hunger, Jua'randa tilted his head to one side before speaking in a soft, friendly tone that was so easy for him to adopt, "Hullo, young one. Are you lost?" Whether the child was lost or not was not the foremost concern on the older male's mind, obviously, as he turned his head to grasp the extended leg of his meal. Pulling the remaining meat into the cub's line of sight, he inclined his head towards it in a familiar motion that implied the youngin could have at it. "I'm quite finished."
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 8:01 pm
And yet, the purpose of said growl was not as heroic as one might've thought. The young male merely sought refuge from the pestering bugs, a cord-like tail beginning it's job to keep them from landing on his back. Though the violent stroke of noon hadn't yet fallen upon the savanna, his head still throbbed, pulsing in a familiar migrane from lack of nourishment and sheer exhaustion. It always happened like this. As soon as Nyota stopped, or slowed at all, it began once more. That's why he kept moving, never supposing it was because he kept on that it happened.
So caught up with keeping himself bug-free, that the male had hardly noticed the older lion's approach until he spoke, startling the lion. Jumping instinctively, ears pressed back against his head, Nyota'Chali pressing himself farther back into the spiny brush, the pointed branches scratching across his golden pelt.
How had he not seen something as large as that approach? Surely it must've been quite noisy, enough for him to hear against the pulsing. For several moments the cub eyed the larger rogue warily, unsure of what to make of his kind voice. The offering of food caught his attention quite thoroughly though, but what was the catch? Surely there must be one. No lion would ever simply give food. "....Why?" A soft boyish voice questioned after a minute's silence, common sense winning over gut-ripping hunger at the moment.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 8:14 pm
He watched the cub, disappointed that he had startled him though expecting it nevertheless. It was obvious the cub was practically emaciated - naught but skin and bones - and that brought out any and every paternal instinct Jua carried. He'd never been a father, but it was inherent for him to be kind, especially to young ones. This was different, though. This cub wasn't simply there, it needed his help whether the little rascal would admit it or not. Flicking his tail against the flies irritably, though such an expression never crossed his face, he waited for the cub to react. His response, however, was unexpected.
Staring the young male over, the rogue arched his brow as he pondered the cub's inclination for suspicious curiousty over hunger. That was a sure sign that this little lion had not led a pampered life. He was used to hunger, he was used to being tricked. Letting his hind legs fold beneath him, Jua shrugged, "Why? Because I'm not hungry, and you are. I can bring down food like this without wasting any effort, whereas you cannot. Consider it a gift, dig in and enjoy it before the vultures get it."
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 8:32 pm
The explanation was strange, yet, plausible. If the lion simply didn't want it, he was just full, then there was nothing wrong with it. Giving a last glance around the area surrounding the meat, already it had caught the attention of a couple of flies, the cub swallowed lightly. He gave a soft nod of his head towards the older lion, unable to find the words -quite literally, as Nyota'Chali was slightly illiterate at times- to express his gratitude to the strange rogue who'd offered him food with such kind speech.
And so, the skinny cub started quickly towards the leg, beginning to rip at the skin quickly in order to get to the juicy flesh, eating as quickly as one could. Gifts were hard to come by in the savanna.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 7:24 am
Jua inclined his head to one side, shifting so that his body leaned heavily on one forepaw and one hind leg before he flopped completely on his side in an unceremonious heap. The move was graceful for any other creature that walked, but for a lion it spoke of a full tummy and unwillingness to do much else then be lazy. He lifted his paw to lick the blood from his pads and claws with a contented, low growl. There would be nothing wrong with spending a good portion of the day beneath this conveniant cluster of trees.
That was the feeling the cub should be enjoying, not exhaustion and a life sucking hunger. He should be happy and fed well enough to play. Jua's serene brow furrowed as he watched the young one eat, devouring the meat as fast as his little teeth could handle. "Don't choke. The vultures won't come so long as I'm here." That wasn't a lie. There were one or two dancing on the outskirts of the bushes, probably twenty feet away, but the presence of a large male lion kept them from hopping any nearer. Jua waited for the cub to eat his fill, deciding that a full belly might make him more susceptible to conversation.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:42 am
Half-ripping through a leg tendon as the older lion spoke, the cub raised his head accordingly, ears perking lightly as the male spoke. A stringy piece of red meat hung from his maw, and swallowing lightly the cub nodded, returning to the task. Was the male so sure that the vultures wouldn't come? Surely he hadn't lost such meals to the scavenging birds, which easily dwarfed Nyota'Chali. Giving a wary glance towards the nearby birds in waiting, he began to eat once more, this time at a relatively slower pace to please the rogue.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 11:34 am
He felt oddly at peace watching the young cub eat the remains of his kill, as if he had made the kill for the little male to begin with. He wondered if the cub would be willing to travel with him with the promise of another meal. He supposed that in the worst case scenario, he could lead the cub to more friendly territory full of small game, but even then Jua didn't think he'd have the heart to leave the cub. Perhaps he could fatten the young one up before leaving him, so that at least he had a full belly and strong muscles before being left to hunt on his own.
Flicking his tail against his back, his large mouth opened in a great yawn so that his fangs glinted in the sunlight and his tongue curled. His toes of his forepaws stretched to scratch at the dirt briefly before he looked to the little orange lion cub, "Have you a name? Or should I keep calling you 'young one' and 'kid'?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:33 pm
With his fill taken -pretty much all of the leg was gone-, the cub toddled slowly back over towards the large rogue, seating himself a few feet away. A strange feeling the cub felt in his gut, the feeling of being full, a thing he hadn't experienced in a while. An ear twitching contently, he was able to relax a bit.
At the larger male's question, he raised his head, blinking softly. "Ny.." For a moment the cub had to compose himself, trying to remember the words, but not only that, the feeling of them on his tongue. This took him a moment to figure out, before speaking once more. "Nyotaa...Nyo-ta...Chali. Nyota.Chali." He nodded soon afterwards, affirming his own name. It was a wonder he still remembered it.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:29 pm
Jua didn't laugh nor even crack a smile as the cub sounded out his own name, instead looking very much like this was the norm anytime someone's name was inquired after. The cub had been alone for sometime, there was no doubt about that, so he very much expected there to be some sorts of repercussions from that. Not remembering one's name exactly was hardly a surprise from a creature so young left on their own. Really, Jua felt a pang in his heart at the idea of leaving the cub and his brow furrowed in determination before he replied.
"And I'm Jua'randa. So do you often run off by yourself?" He needed to discern whether the cub had a lazy mother or if he really was alone before he propisitioned anything else.
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 5:43 pm
Licking his paw before using it to wipe the blood awkwardly from his muzzle, the cub blinked at the older male and his question. Jua'Randa. Joo-ah, rahn-dah. He'd remember that, Nyota thought with a soft nod of his head once more.
"Run?" The cub's brow furrowed confusedly, as he shook his head. He never ran off, unless of course he was chased or it was raining, really.
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 9:09 pm
That caused his brow to furrow, most assuredly. Jua wasn't sure if the cub simply didn't know what the word meant or if he wasn't sure what Jua meant by the question. Either way, he was concerned. How alone was the little lion, exactly? And how young? He supposed his mother could've been injured and lost Nyota, but it was still something to worry over. Flicking his tail, he sighed before trying again with a less subtle approach.
"Is your mother someplace?" He almost cooed - his voice dropped to a low, soothing note when he spoke to cubs. He wasn't even aware of the change, though anyone observing who knew him would notice. "Did she leave you someplace?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 9:20 pm
The tiny lion flopped down from his current sitting position to laying down on the dirt, for the first time in a while feeling no threat from this strange, much larger lion. It was quite odd, really. Most of the lions he'd met either tried to eat him (he assumed), or chase him off. Why did this large male permit his company, even share his meals with him? Surely he wasn't right in the head.
Green tipped ears flickered forwards at the pleasing tone the male made when he spoke, wanting to scoop up every syllable and not miss a note. Conversation was quite scarce when one traveled. After pondering for a moment, the cub chirped a 'no'. He had no idea what a 'muh-ver' was, so how could he have one? The accident had erased any memory of life before-hand, as well as anything learned. Was a 'muh-ver' like what this male was? If so Nyota believed that he surely would like one, especially one that shared it's food. "You muh-ver?" He inquired innocently, blinking up at Jua-randa with questioning emerald eyes.
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 9:34 pm
Oh, now this was most definitely tragic. How could a cub not know what a mother was? Much less not even know well enough to pronounce it right? Had he never spoken with another lion before? Jua's expression twisted into one of utmost concern, flicking his tail in an aggravated gesture of worry as he lay his head on his huge paws. It put him closer to the cub's level, and didn't hinder his speaking abilities. He looked almost cuddly, despite his size, as if his tone of voice was softening all angles of his form.
As for being right in the head, perhaps he wasn't. True, alot of male lions wouldn't waste their time with a lost cub, but Jua definitely had a soft spot for little ones and this was no different. "Me?" He almost blushed, but only almost. Instead he gave a gentle chuckle before doing his best to explain, "No, a mother is... a girl. Old like me, though, but .. uhm." He hesitated, then started once more, "I'm a father." That's right. He nodded, "I'm a boy, so I'd be a father... if I had cubs, I mean. Do you have a father? Or a Daddy?"
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