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 Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:40 pm
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That had been rather pathetic, and he openly admitted it.
Mapatano was rarely, if ever, a clumsy lion. Even with a somewhat stiff front leg, he hardly ever stepped wrong and fell. So he wondered why today was any different, as he lied, flat on his back, at the base of the mountain. His den was several feet up higher, and it seemed that some rock had gotten loose. So only moments ago, when he stepped out for the afternoon, it... well, gave way. Which left the black male to stumble uselessly down hill.
Maybe he should just be glad he didn't live even higher up. |
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:54 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:05 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:11 pm
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Eventually he did hear someone call his name, and a black ear flicked in response. He was seriously debating whether or not he should answer whoever it was that called him, because maybe if he wasn't found they'd just assume nothing was wrong and wander off.
But, then again, whomever it was that looked for him might also find him and assume him not replying was just a sign that he was just about dead, and fuss all the more over him. "Here." Said Mapatano, with a defeated sigh. Stupid loose rock.
Now with more motivation to stand, he attempted to gather his paws beneath him, eventually turning his body enough to turn mostly-right-side up, and touch his chin to the floor. Then he could see the lioness, and for a moment mistook her for Elea. But Elea was a different color, and Mapatano never forgot a face.
"Ema. I'm here."
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:19 pm
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Juu flashed down to where Mapatano was, landing on a rock nearby. That would make it easier for Ema to see him. Not that he blended in that well, but black against rock was more 'natural' than pink against rock. He eyed Mapatano, trying to see if he was injured anywhere.
Ema finally saw him, and crawled her way over to him. If he had fallen, then the rocks weren't as stable as they should be. No earthquake had happened lately, but there was always that fear in the back of her stomach. Umoja's brother had never returned, and neither had her daughter. It made her sick just thinking about it.
"Area you alright?" she asked, feeling she had room to say that since he was on his belly, and not on his back with legs in the air. "Juu said he saw you hurt, and I came to check on you..."
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:25 pm
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Amusingly enough, besides realizing he wasn't feeling very disposed to stand, Mapatano hadn't actually attempted to assess just how hurt he was. Now that she asked him the question, he regretted it, because it seemed like suddenly he had been attacked by the great mother of headaches.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds. Ugh. "I'm fine, don't worry about it." He lied, because he wasn't totally fine. He felt sore all over, and had probably gotten a few scratched here and there. All in all, not too bad. At least he didn't break anything.
Once again, he shifted, and this time managed to get all his paws beneath him. That was good. Sadly, he seemed only capable of lifting his first half. Maybe his hindquarters wanted to take a stupid break. Speaking of stupid... "Loose rock outside my den." He sort-of explained.
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:39 pm
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Ema's tail twitched in irritation. Males, seriously. It didn't seem worth it to argue with him. Besides, Mapatano probably had an ego larger than Ema could ever comprehend, and she figured it might be better to salvage that than to get in an argument with an injured lion. She'd probably have to grab one of the healers later and bribe them to take a look at him. And she'd sit on him later just to make sure that he was alright.
But, that was for later.
"Well, ok." It was clear that she didn't really trust him, but was wise enough to not get too motherly on him. "Don't move yet, at least not until Hisa comes."
Juu nodded. "Yeah, she'll make sure you're ok," he said, snapping his beak in laughter. Ema shot him a look, but it was impossible to shut a bird up when they wanted to talk.
"You feel any tremors lately that might have loosened it?" Ema asked as she half-hazardly tried to sit on a rock near him.
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:44 pm
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Mapatano shot a glare at the lioness' bonded, because he suddenly concluded Juu, too, was stupid. In fact, this whole day was stupid. Very good way to describe it all. Maybe one day he would write a song about how stupid this day was. "Hisa..." He frowned, where was that bird, anyways? Hadn't seen her since yesterday, really. He wondered if he should begin to worry. "Have you seen her?" He asked, though it seemed fairly detached from the conversation.
As for tremors... "Not really. Maybe some rodent dug under the rock, or it got loose with some rain, or something." It had rained a few days ago, but that made it seem like a strange delayed reaction.
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:54 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:03 pm
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He didn't like that Juu hadn't answered his question about Hisa, and might have asked again, but was entirely distracted by Ema then. "Good heavens, that would be awful! Don't joke about such things." He blurted out. Just imagine, being found in that position by Umoja! King of the pride and his cousin.
Sure, he felt less awkward around Umoja now, due to the very sad fact that... Well, let's not go there. And because of all they had been through together after the earthquake, for better or worse. But that didn't make Mapatano at all more at ease with the idea that Umoja could have found him instead of Ema.
After that, though, he did feel pretty silly, even if this was Ema, and not Umoja.
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:28 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:37 pm
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He glanced at the lioness suspiciously for a moment, wondering if she considered him being himself a good thing or a bad thing. But she had a point, if Mapatano were actually in pain he probably would act differently. But since he was who he was, sometimes Mapatano found such things hard to judge for himself.
He watched Juu take off, and nodded at her comment. "Nonsense, Hisa loves me." And he didn't even have that big an ego, really. His father had been a tyrant that everyone, including himself, hated. He couldn't possibly think too highly of himself. Hisa was probably just bored, or out finding some food, or maybe just enjoying the sky. It wouldn't be the first time that he spent a day or two without seeing her. But it was still an unusual occurrence!
At her offer for help, he was quick to shake his head. "No, thank you. I'll just... walk this off." Yes, seemed like a bright idea, until he actually decided to really stand up. It was actually easier than it looked. Because it looked downright pathetic. Damn.
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:48 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:55 pm
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He shrugged, and then paused, staring at the white and pink female suspiciously. she had a weird face on. Okay, what was she going to try now? He really didn't like that look, not at all. He was certain he--
... Woah. This was rich.
See, the thing about Mapatano is, he was usually a very grumpy, unfriendly guy. But he absolutely loved his home and anyone in it, even those that irritated him. And Ema didn't even irritate him! So, even though he had just been through the same thing himself, the black lion was somewhat visibly concerned, and quickly made his way down. "Ema? Are you okay?" He also seemed to somehow totally forget that he was injured.
It was almost even heroic!
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