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 Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:44 am
The young swamp scion was lost. Terribly lost. He had left his home, as part of his pride's customs, to find his true name. But for the adolescent lion, it was nothing but a hassle. Why did he have to leave home, and his mother of all things? Couldn't he just stick home and figure out his name? This was just too much for the impatient and homesick boy.
He stumbled around in this jungle, next to a huge rock wall. He could see a bit of the wall through the trees, but it was just a wall, and held no curiosity to the brown lion. Instead, he was just trying to figure out how to not trip over all the vines and sticks on the ground.
"Ugh," the voice called out to a quiet jungle. "I hate this so much." He grunted as he pulled his backleg loose from another vine. Exhausted, he flopped against a tree, something to lean on while he figured out where to go. "I'm so sick of this..."
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:00 am
How on earth could she find a lion who had dissapeared before she was born?
The cub - because that was what she still was - flopped onto her side in the shade of a huge, unending sheet of rock. She'd hit a wall - in both reality and in her quest. But maybe...
Maybe something good could come of all of this. Maybe someone would know where Banji was (or what he looked like, for that matter). Oh, she knew he looked like her, but who knew how many zebra-lions there were around here? Probably a whole plague of them. She huffed a sigh and worriedly chewed on her lip. Mother would never say how sad she was, but her -eyes- would.
Tara didn't think she could bear to be the cause of any more dissapointment.
Movement caught the corner of her eye and she froze, still in the spotted shadows cast down through the jungle canopy. Another lion... narrowing her eyes, she studied him and waited for him to see her. Mentally, she prepared to fight.
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:08 am
Juu's ears twitched when they picked up a slight noise to the side of him. It didn't quite sound like a bird...but perhaps it was some sort of preybeast. He had no idea what kind of food would be out here, and thus wouldn't rush it. Who knew if there would be another chance like this?
Instead of being stupid, and calling out to the noise, he pushed himself off of the tree, and tried his best to walk quietly, slowly towards where he heard the noise. He wasn't too successful, though, still unused to the range of different plants, and the much rougher ground.
He slinked towards where he thought the noise came from, but he indeed was feet away from where it originated from. So instead, he looked like he was creeping up on...well, nothing, really.
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:18 am
At -first- Tara thought he was sneaking up on her, and she could have laughed. Seeing as she was staring right at him, she could promise him an unsuccessful conclusion to -that- hunt. But she was faintly startled when he began to stare intently to the side of her.
Her tail flicked nervously. Maybe there was something dangerous there? Or maybe he was just trying to trick her... well. If he wanted to play -that- game she would be more than pleased to oblige. Her bone deep weariness fell away as she tensed, focusing intently on her 'prey'.
Ears flat, the cub waited until he'd come close enough to her to pounce.
Almost there... She slowly shifted her weight to her backlegs. Unlike this brown boy, she was used to the jungle. After all, she'd grown up there. Her movements were nearly silent.
Now!
With a roar (which came out more like a half-frightened squeal) she launched herself at the larger lion and bowled straight into his side.
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:25 am
Juu never expecting something to happen. Perhaps whatever he was looking for run off, but not for it to run at him. So it was quite a surprise when he got a sudden attack to his side, feeling a surge of pain.
He crashed over, his side slamming into the rough ground, a series of grunts and growls emerging from his mouth. He rolled over a couple times, and slowly flopped to a stop. His body hurt nouw, for whatever hit him had taken him completely by surprise, and thus his body wasn't tense enough to hold it's own.
"Oww..." he said, rubbing his shoulder as he tried to see just what in the world had slammed into him. He winced at the pain as he saw...a black-and-white thing. Stripes? What that a zebra? Why had it rammed into him? It certainly did more damage then it needed to if it was protecting something. "Damn, that really hurt..."
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:37 am
Ugh. He was harder than he looked... Tara rolled off of him and shook her head. At least she'd been ready for it. She eyed her prey and grinned, a mear bearing of pearl fangs. She'd managed to take him down too.
"HAH." She pranced, head high and tail raised, and looked down at him. "Try to fool me? I've learned better 'n -that-, mister..."
She looked at him quizzically. "Mister... sneaky." She finished lamely. It would do for now, until she decided if she really wanted to know his name. Wow, he was big! Not as big as Momma or Dad, but still... bigger 'n Nyu, and Tara had a hard time beating her!
... but now what? Tara cocked her head. Maybe he knew...
She flopped down in front of him, ears pricked, seemingly at ease. Obviously she could handle him if he tried any funny business. Momma would have been so proud if she could have seen! Maybe even decide Tara was as strong as the son she was supposed to be!
"Since I caught you, you have to answer my questions!" She declared. "My first question: Who are you?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:11 am
Juu shook his head while pulling himself up into a sitting position. He was still trying to recover from the hit he got, but his senses were slowly returning.
"What?" he started, realising that what hit him wasn't a zebra, but just a little lion that looked like a zebra. Weird.
He was finally able to think a little clearly, and looked down to find the little lion sitting in front of him, looking quite demanding. He wasn't quite sure what to do, but nervous that this lion would have a huge family behind her, he decided to play nice for now.
"Umm...I'm Juu," he said abruptly, still staring back at the other lion. "Aahhh..." he started, but couldn't quite remember what he wanted to ask.
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:17 pm
"Juu - aahhh?" She teased, grinning. "Nice name. Your parents must've had a great sense of humor."
The grin faded as darker thoughts crept into her mind. What if he was here as a scout, and they were going to attack her family? Maybe that was why he didn't want to give her his -real- name. What if he was only pretending to be hurt, when -really- he was sizing her up for attack? Tara's expression grew grimmer, something that seemed sadly in place on the youthful cub's face.
"Alright. So I know who you are now." She stood up and looked him over, walking in a circle around him to get his full measure. He -was- a lot bigger. She couldn't even reach his shoulder while she was standing and he was sitting.
Hmph. Size didn't matter, it was -spirit- that won battles. She nodded to herself.
"Second question! What are you doing here?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:34 pm
Juu's ears flicked against his skull, very irritated that this little lion was making fun of his name. "It's just Juu," he said sharply. "My mother gave it to me." Not like all mothers didn't name their children, but he was very proud of his name.
He noticed that she was smaller then him, but didn't think much of it. Not in the way that the black-and-white lion did. He was not a hostile lion at all, and would rather spend his time lounging around then thinking up things like that.
"I'm searching for my true name," he said calmly, assuming that everyone else did what his pride did. He didn't know anything else about the outside world, so why think that things could be different?
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:22 pm
"Of course she did, silly. Who else would give you your name?" Tara, for one, wouldn't want a name her father had picked out. She had a feeling that it would be a really funny one. For all the burdens her own seemed to bring to light, it also gave her a faint sense of pride, and the strength to continue on.
"Mama gave me mine too." She leaned in closer, for a moment forgetting her suspicions. "Tarajia - she said it means "one who is wanted". Of course, that wasn't me, but I still got it."
The cub flopped down on the shaded ground in front of the brown male. Although she acted happy enough on the outside, a soft sigh and downcast eyes seemed to indicate a different emotion. Tara pawed at the ground and listened distractedly as Juu explained his task.
"... true name?" Tara chirped and tilted her head slightly, ears pricked in curiosity. What was that supposed to mean? How did you find a name... for that matter, how did you loose it?
Maybe he wasn't a spie... maybe he was sent here as a test! A test to see how strong and quick she was. To find out what a great huntress she was!
"I can help you! ... " She paused and eyed him curiously. "But I don't really know what to look for." The cub's ears drooped slightly with this confession.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 10:39 am
Juu's initial thoughts of the young lion in front of him was one of an aggressive nature. She did attack him right off the bat! But she seemed a little more quiet, if still having that youthful bounciness. Juu didn't want to say it, but he felt a little old next to her. Maybe because she was still a little bundle of energy, and he just wanted to go home.
His ears perked as she offered to help, but he didn't know where to start, either. "I wish I knew," he started, sulking a bit. "Mama said that our names would just...come to us. But I don't know what she means, or where to look."
He glanced around the forest, as if questioning the trees around him to help. "So maybe here can help. If no name, maybe a direction...."
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 11:51 am
Tara's eyes narrowed and her brow winkled slightly as she considered Juu's predicament. It would be hard to search for something when you didn't even know what it looked like! Or, for that matter, where to start.
"Well. You have to start somewhere." She looked around, her eyes falling on a small path she knew well. Leaping to her feet, she padded over to it and peered into the overgrowth.
"This path will take you to a creek! The creek goes to a bigger water path, and that goes to a river!" The cub sounded slightly awed, her eyes round with the idea of her own discovery. "Well, at least that's what's 'spose to happen." She'd only traveled a little distance down the banks. After all, her family -did- need her.
Looking back over her shoulder at the prone brown male, she huffed. Her irritation was displayed with a roll of her brown eyes and a flick of her tail. Was he just going to -pout- there? That wouldn't do anything!
"Well?" She queried petulantly. "Are you coming, or not?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:02 pm
Juu blinked as the little lioness spat out a flurry of words and started stomping away. Wait, what? What just happened? He sat there blinking, dumbfounded over what just happened until he was knocked back awake by Tarajia huffing at him.
"Ah, coming," he said shyly, picking up his paws underneath him and following her. Her words only just began to register in his mind, but they were welcoming. Well, even if he didn't find anything now, maybe it would show him where to look next. Wouldn't hurt, right?
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:12 pm
"Good." She waited until he was next to her, then plunged down the cool shaded path. The ground was moist and slick beneath her paws, but it felt good. Claws dug securily into the loam of the forest floor as she scrambled down the trail.
"It's dark down here, huh?" She grinned, a flash of white against black fur. The darkness and the danger was what had drawn her to this discovery in the first place. Who -wouldn't- want to find out where such a gloomy, forbidding path lead?
Maybe it would take you somewhere -magical-, but only brave lions could go there. Tara pounced down the path, part of her hoping that maybe it had changed it's end point. Maybe she and Juu would find themselves in a beautiful new land! He could have his name, and she could have her perfect loving family... she could be herself...
She rounded the last corner and squashed the faint dissapointment that rose within her chest. A creek rolled by noisily, bubbling over rocks and under logs with a purpose and speed that was comforting to her. Sunlight sparkled down through the high canopy and hit the water in bright patched of light. She -loved- it, even if it wasn't a magic world.
"See? The water knows where it's going. Maybe it can lead you to where you should be going too!" Tara beamed.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 1:09 pm
Juu quietly followed his leader, unsure as to where they were going. He enjoyed the dark, cool area, reminding him of home. His heart ached as he thought of home, though he hadn't been gone long enough to really feel homesick. Maybe it was mother sickness? He missed his mother so much...
He shook himself back into reality, just to see the disappointment on Tarajia's face. What was so wrong with what they found? She soon seemed to lose it, though, so he bobbed his head in agreement. The water seemed happy enough to see them, so perhaps it could guide Juu to where he needed to go. Maybe.
"Well, it seems happy enough to see us..." he started, unsure as what to say. His might was a little cloudy from his pervious thoughts, but he didn't want to disappoint Tara with being quiet. "It would be nice if it could help us..." her perked up, inching closer to the water's edge. It was small, but refreshing as he dipped down to take a small drink. Maybe that would help him clear his mind and get refocused on his task.
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