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 Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:52 pm
Ears flicked back as the young female raced on blindly, ducking here and there under lush leaves and vines. She could hear the other chasing her, it's breath almost as loud as her own heartbeats. How long have they been running now? Her lungs burned fiercely and her legs felt like one twist away from collapsing under her. Still she didn't dare to stop, and Alustha panted harder as she forced herself on. How could she have gotten lost? She should have known better, to explore away from her mother meant true danger. And that's just what she had faced in the thick jungle.
A Warthog. A...a pig, larger and more raging than the juvenile lioness could ever be. One blazing glare and 'snarl' from that thing had been enough of motivation to send Alustha running.
And now at this point, the girl was beginning to feel lightheaded. Her legs began to noticeably fumble and wobble now. This terrain was so thick and crowded with all the plants, she was certain any moment now the other would lung upon her. Gasping and still panicked, the youth dared to look back as she ran. That's when it hit her.
The ground under her vanished, and Alustha fell with a scream. Hard earth scrapped against her as she fell on the bald slope, her form tumbling like a crooked pebble. Her paws flailed and eyes sealed shut in her descent before suddenly she stopped with an 'ooph'. The ground now was soft and pale as it powdered under her fall and the girl looked about her curiously. W....was this all sand?....
A bellow was heard from above, and Alustha gasped as she peered up. The warthog stood on the edge of the jungle and snorted down upon the dazed lion with an angry stomp of his foot. Then, with a final whip of his tail, he turned and left the other to her own fate.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 4:17 pm
.... Right?
Maybe a little beat to the center, riiiiight there, with a slide of his foot and a twist of his body. No, no, it still didn't feel right. It still didn't feel left either, for that matter.
Ua frowned to himself as he sat down on the sand, his fore paw coming to rub his chin as he stared at the long scribbles and doodles his paws had left on the humid sand of the beach as he'd tried to dance. Something had been off about it though, and the pink hued male wasn't entirely sure how to fix it, "I need music," he told a passing crab matter-of-factly. The crab in question glanced up at him briefly and then scurried along into a rock pool not too far away, "Gee, that wasn't a lot of help. A bit of humming would have sufficed!" he called after the retreating creature with a mild snort.
The scream that cut through the air promptly forced the lion into a wince, his ears flopping back in an attempt to rid himself of the... well, ear-splitting noise, "That was TOTALLY not what I was thinking when I asked for music, eeeeeesh!" he turned just in time to see a blue hued form tumble over the cliff that lay off to his right, and his mild aggravation swiftly dissipated, "Oh, wow," he murmured to himself, for a moment rooted in place as he watched Alustha's descent. Then, as soon as the shock and surprise washed off, he darted over to her side, looking over her form, "Wow, that was some fall. For your information; No, lions can not, in fact, fly. Don't give it another try, eh?" she didn't look like she was mortally wounded, but he could see some scratches here and there. He just didn't know if they were severe or not, "Are you okay?"
Granted, that was a dumb question, but it had to be asked.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 4:48 pm
Head whipped around harshly enough for the girl to wince at her sore neck. There was already another creature waiting? Her back fur bristled before she even took in his words and she shuffled backward in the sand awkwardly. "Wh..who are you?" Was he making fun of her? Of course lions couldn't fly, and she certainly hadn't been trying to! But her jittery nerves prevented her from saying such things as she warily watched the other. He was no adult but he was still larger than her own lanky form. Though his voice did seem kind, as did his random words of advice.
Pouting her bottom lip, Alustha looked down at herself. She was a mighty dirty mess due to her adventure through the territory. And her legs were sore after the sudden halt and tumble. Instinct brought tears to the corners of her eyes, and she had to reminder herself that the other was a stranger and not mothers comfortable fur to weep upon.
" 'M fine...." Sniffle. The girl shook her head with a frown before shyly looking at the other, praying he was no enemy. "W...where am I? What is this place?" It smelt funny.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:16 pm
He regarded her with a tilted head, his messy mane flopping to cover one eye before he turned to tilt his head in the opposite direction, almost as if by changing the way he was looking at her, he could figure her, and her past out, "Huh," was the only sound he offered her at first before he sniffed the air, "I always thought one should introduce oneself before asking for another's name!" a 'tsk' like sound was heard as his tongue clicked over his teeth. A moment passed though, and his gaze softened terribly; the girl was obviously a nervous wreck, as if she'd come running from a long way (not to mention her strange fall - who the hell fell over cliffs like that?). It just wasn't in him to beat the proverbial dog while it was down, "Awww, come on now. Ain't gonna eat'cha, eh? The name's Ua. What's yours?"
The scents in the wind indicated she was alone, and he honestly did not recognise her. She was obviously not a Kizaa member, "This stretch of land," he indicated to the beach and then motioned towards the jungle that lay beyond the cliffs, "Belongs to the Kizingo'zaa pride. You are now in their territory," he motioned to himself, "I'm the son of the Song Keeper of these lands," he paused as he looked down at her, amusingly enough, figuring that perhaps this was all a bit too much information for her to take in at the moment, "You're kinda a bit of a mess, but don't worry. You're safe here."
It wasn't till he saw the tears in the corners of her eyes that he looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight from foot to foot, "Uhh... no, you're kinda NOT okay. You don't look it," a pause again, "But uhm, please don't cry? Look, why don't we fix you right up?" a paw stretched out towards the ocean, where the waves lapped at the sand calmly, "The water's not really good for drinking, but we can get'cha all cleaned up there, eh? I promise nothing's gonna hurt you here. Where's your mother anyhow? You don't look like you should be all alone."
He moved to stand and motioned towards the sea before padding a couple of steps and stopping to see if the smaller female cared to follow.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:47 pm
Alustha stared at the quirky other, before slowly mimicking his tilted actions. Was something wrong with his neck? Or maybe his vision? But the girl dismissed the question as she felt the tears go with the tilt, and she straightened herself upright. Then it seemed the other was scolding her, and the blue lion deflated noticeably to the sands. Oops, she had forgotten that common courtesy. She usually did...whenever she was scared. Besides that, he was still trying to catch up on oxygen from her recent run, no wonder she wasn't thinking calmly.
Feeling somewhat reassured by his promise of no dining, Alustha took a deep breath to reply. "I'm Alustha. Sorry 'bout not saying so...." Green eyes glanced around as Ua announced the name of this new area. K...Kizingo'zaa? Mother had never spoken of this place, even if they had been so near to it. Was it because of the jungle making a strong hiding barrier? It was all accident that she herself had stumbled here after all.
"Safe here? The p...pride won't attack me?" The youth had heard stories of such groups, and feared despite the comfort that she may be in such a story. Perhaps not to the youths, but what of the adults in the pride? That's what frightened her most. Sniffling once more the girl wiped away at her face as the other openly pointed out her distraught state. Peeking over her arm, she noticed in the distance a hazy blue line and perked up when Ua mentioned the water. "A lake?" Sure was a stinky lake, and loud too from this distance!
Watching the other stand and move made Alustha quick to her own feet, not wanting to get left behind and lost. "Mother.....my mom, she's..." A worried glance was thrown back at the jungle before she lowered her gaze. Would she be mad at her? Or more so, was mother okay? "She's on the other side, I think...." Words froze as eyes looked to the 'lake', impressed and confused by its size.
"....wow.."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:20 pm
He found himself shrugging slightly, as if to imply that her lack of manners didn't really matter. In fact. he'd only been teasing her, but then again... it was understandable she wouldn't have taken the bait with how horribly shaken up she seemed to be. It was hard for him to remember that not everyone liked to be teased. He was pretty sure that those that stumbled over cliffs were right up there, near the top of the list of 'Folks that should NOT be teased'. Ah well, live and learn.
"Alustha, huh? That's cool. My name means flower," a mild snort was offered as he lifted one of his forepaws, allowing her to see the faint flowery markings scattered over his pelt, "Yours got a meaning?" his gaze slid towards her as she questioned her safety. For some reason, her startled, almost shocked voice amusing him, "Oh, 'course you're safe here! That's what Kizaa's about. This place is safe, yah know? No one can hurt you here. But in turn, you're not allowed to hurt anyone, or anything either. Kinda a... live and let live."
Somehow, his reassuring wasn't causing a huge effect on her though, and he really couldn't deal with crying girls. Or boys, for that matter, but somehow, it seemed worse when girls did it; they made these faces and it was awkward and it honestly got under his skin. He perked up visibly as the child mentioned the 'lake' ahead of them, thankful she was choosing to talk about it, rather than focus on her distress, "Something like that!" he told her, "They call it Ocean, and they say it's much, much bigger than a lake. It's so big, you can't swim across it," his head turned towards the cliff as he reached the shore, eyes narrowing in an attempt to spot someone, anyone that was looking to reclaim thee child.
No luck though, and the male merely clicked his tongue over his teeth again, "That's unlucky... but also okay. I know a way up without having to climb all those rocks. We can see about looking for your mom later, but first..." he stepped into the water, the waves lapping at his ankles, "Pretty, isn't it? Don't drink it though - it's not drinking water. Too salty. Cool 'lake' huh?" he motioned for her to come nearer to him before happily sitting down, allowing the waves to lap at him as they came forth and later receded, "Come 'ere though. Let's get'cha all cleaned up first, shall we?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:04 am
Despite the on going confusion of the conversation, Alustha was honestly beginning to relax. Not tremendously mind you, but enough for her heart to stop fluttering and her elbows to quit quivering. The tone of the strangers voice was truly kind and not at all threatening, even the nervous girl could tell that now.
"Flower?" The lioness peered with a squint at the others offered arm, able to just barely see the image there. "Oh, I see them. I think?" Her tail twisted as she lifted one soft ear to his question. Her own name? "Oh, mother told me it meant blue snow." She'd never been asked before about her names meaning and it left her with her own silent questions. Just what was snow anyways? Sure she'd heard tales of it and what it was like, but she'd never seen any. And...did it suit her in a good or bad form? Wincing about just how she may relate to the rare substance, Alustha decided against learning so. She liked her name well enough.
Her steps were sluggish both from fatigue and the odd texture of the deep sand but she did well to keep up with Ua. "Oh, promise?" It sounded almost too good to be true, even in the mind of a young one. A place where no one got hurt? Well....she sure got hurt finding the place! Although, Alustha did have to turn a hesitant glance at Ua and his explanation of an Ocean. As astounding as the whole thing seemed, the girl's eyes couldn't deny those facts. This ocean did look too far to even try swimming through.
The mention of her mother made the girl pout sadly once more, sending one last look to the cliff side before stepping into the shallow waters. As soon as her upper legs hit the liquid her fur was sent up in a frazzled bristle. "Eep! It's so cold!" The lioness lifted two paws as if that'd somehow keep her warm, but the Ocean moved like a heartbeat and soon swept over her resisting skin. Alustha sputtered at being completely wet, while comically puffing her mouth of air to not drink the persistent water.
Some fun getting cleaned up! How could the other lion just sit there so coolly and unaffected?
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