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 Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 3:26 pm
The time had come for Shababa to make choices about her future. Would she follow Sparda, following in the steps of her father and grandfather, or would she abandon her father's god and follow Morifaer as did her uncle? Or would she choose one of the higher ranks?
Although the pleasure-seekers job didn't appeal to her, their company was, well, pleasant at least. Maybe it was all the warm steam billowing out of the hot springs on a cool night that kept her around, rather than her interest in these strange demons. After she tired of the females she went down to the second hot spring and tested the water with one paw. The water felt warm and inviting, but Shababa hated to get her fur wet. Instead she decided to lay down at the water's edge and soak up the warmth in the rocks. Within a few minutes she fell into a light doze.
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:51 pm
((Including cub pic too, because I'm vain about his markings you can't see on his juv lines. XD)) 
He didn’t mind the chore so much. Playing at hunting alone with himself felt much like practicing, which was no fun since he wasn’t allowed on serious hunts yet. And there was an advantage to carrying out the order: he carried a double amount of the weed in a loose, borrowed pouch hanging from his neck. It bulged from the bag and slapped rhythmically against his chest and legs as he walked along the pools. The rhythm, along with the heady mist rolling at his feet, was enough to make his ears and tail droop with perfect boredom, but at least he’d have enough of the weed for his own use later. He hoped to bring his own demon to the surface later and sort the troubling thing out. Right now though, he only needed one more good tuft – and there it was!
His ears pricked as his eyes fell on a fat batch of the soft plant. It was growing at the base of a rock, unfortunately topped by a sleeping blue and black girl around his own age. He regarded her for a quiet moment and shrugged to himself. Eyeing her, he approached quietly to pluck the weed without disturbing her.
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:21 pm
Unfortunately for Leyak, Shababa was no peaceful dreamer. She trained herself to sleep lightly in case someone tried to sneak up on her. As the ambitious granddaughter of one of the kings and the niece of another she expected to make some enemies.
The cub's scent was unusual. Perhaps he had rubbed himself with some kind of herb to disguise his identity. She waited until the male was almost on top of her, then opened her eyes and smacked him across the face.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked pointedly. She narrowed her eyes at the sack dangling around his neck. The strange smell seemed to be coming from there. She looked him in the eyes, awaiting her explanation.
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:32 pm
He was almost on her when the young lioness struck. Luckily, Leyak flinched back enough to miss most of the blow, but the female’s needle like claws swiped across his nose leaving a few tiny pinpricks of blood and some pinkish lines. Is heart thudded in wild alarm, but to his own surprise he let out a fairly harsh sounding growl of challenge that, coupled with his wide eyes, actually made him appear more angry than startled by the attack. It took a moment for his nerves to settle enough to speak however, and his tail lashed in agitation. “Are you crazy? What was that for?” he demanded sharply.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:35 am
"What do you mean, what was that for?" Shababa said, doing a goofy impression of Leyak's voice. She sniffed and added matter-of-factly, "You snuck up on me."
And it was as simple as that. He deserved a good whack on the nose for sneaking up on her, let alone disturbing her for what she assumed to be some trifle reason. As she glared at him tiny orbs of blood started to bloom from the pink marks she left on his nose. Shababa smiled gingerly, her cold eyes glowing with mirth. "What's in the bag? Has one of the old crones got you doing chores?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:43 am
Oh, childish mimicry, that was effective. He sneered silently and tossed his head. “Yes, as a matter of fact. I was coming over here for that,” he said, nodding at the weed beside the rock. “I wasn’t sneaking up on your inflated ego, despite what it may lead you to believe. The weed was more interesting, and I was ignoring you until you struck without reason.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:51 am
Shababa arched a brow. She could see that he was deliberately trying to make her angry, but she didn't believe he was telling the truth. She was much more interesting than some stupid weed. Still, no one should dare to talk to her that way. She would have to teach him a lesson.
"Oh, this is what you wanted? You could have just asked you know, stupid boy." She turned around on the rock and sat with the weed between her paws. Her tail flicked back and fourth.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:02 am
Leyak tilted his head at her, wondering at her lack of outburst after that insult. His mouth twitched, as if he was amused, but his eyes studied her rather closely. “I could get any other weed around this pool without having to, but if it entertains you, I’ll ask: may I have that one?”
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:50 am
"Yes, you may. I'm not all bad you know." She watched him carefully while trying to appear as if she was not paying attention, smiling her best smile, which may or may not have been convincing. It took practice for Shababa to appear innocent. Innocence simply was not part of her natural character.
All she needed was for him to get close enough for her to grab that bag off his neck. That would teach him a lesson. Even if he didn't learn a thing, it would be fun to make him upset.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:56 am
“Hmmph.” He looked at her a little bit too long before starting to move forward. Even if she truly were acting benevolent now, she’d been too nasty a thing in their first few seconds of meeting for him to be fully trusting. But he couldn’t back out of it now. It seemed simple enough to just go around her and search for a different plant, but he’d already signed up for whatever little game she had in mind. His pride was a stake now, and maybe it would be interesting besides. Watching her as much as possible, he still had to glance down to pluck the weed when he approached though. Leyak tensed.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:10 am
Shababa waited patiently for the moment to strike. She waited motionless like a stone. Unlike smiling, waiting came naturally to her when most normal cubs needed to train themselves to sit still for even a second. For some reason Shababa was simply born without that made a cub a cub so that sometimes she seemed completely joyless, more like an insect than a young lion, perhaps a praying mantis.
When Leyak was in just the right spot, Shababa lunged. She grabbed the strap holding Leyak's bag of herbs in her teeth and pushed Leyak back, yanking the sack off his neck as she did so. With the sack in her teeth Shababa scampered up the cliff headed toward the upper hot springs, the ones too hot for cubs to play in. She had an awful idea. Oh, she had a terrible, devilish idea.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:19 am
Leyak had been waiting for some sort of attack, expecting it. He lurched away, the teeth on the back of his neck sending a shudder through him, and reared up, shouting and hoping to lay a swipe across the female’s face to match his own.
…But he swiped only air. Shababa was already out of range, running wildly, and there was a curious lack of weight on the back of his neck. He glanced down, and a moment later tore after the cursed female. “Come back!” he shouted, knowing it wouldn’t do any good. His short legs probably wouldn’t either. He was the runt of the litter, and despite his determination he probably wouldn’t catch her in time after that head start.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:35 am
Shababa grinned with Leyak's pouch clutched between her teeth. Causing pain was one of the few things that made her happy. She was going to get him into so much trouble with the old crone and there was nothing he could do about it!
She didn't look back to see where Leyak was, for his footsteps already sounded far behind. Shababa practiced hunting almost every day. She loved running down prey, holding it under her paws and slowly tearing out its insides, but even more than that she loved the opportunity to show off to her friends and that meant practicing until she could run faster than them. The rocks by the hot springs were slippery enough to slow her down, but not enough to let Leyak catch up. Only when she reached the second lowest pool did she stop. She waited until she was sure Leyak could see her.
With a toss of her hair and a wink of the eye, Shababa tossed Leyak's bag into the bubbling pool. The water at this level would burn any cub that tried to wade into the steaming pool. She turned to Leyak and smiled victoriously.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 4:30 pm
Leyak’s claws extended until the ached as he struggled for grip on the stones. Even then, he nearly fell several times as he gained distance on the devilish female. It wasn’t enough though. A few meters behind her, he came to a stop as she reached the pool and hissed for her to stop. The herb pouch went arcing into the air despite the plea, and his feet scrambled to bring him to the rocky edge of the pool. The bag floated for a moment, too far out of reach to even entertain swiping at, and sank with a gross little ‘blub’ noise. He stood, heavy silver bangs and shadows cloaking his face as he eyed the pool, tense with the need for action.
He turned toward Shebaba, expression flat except for a curious twitching of the lips around his teeth, and started walking towards her.
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Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 5:28 pm
Shababa laughed at Leyak's priceless expression, not the innocent laughter of a playful cub whose game had unintentionally strayed over the line of make-believe. Her eyes gleamed in triumph, her muzzle cut in two by her malicious grin. As he started toward her, Shababa took off in the opposite direction with a spring, nearly disappearing into the steam billowing from the next highest pool.
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