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 Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 4:06 pm
 There was notion to do. NOTHING. And that was bor~ing. Xun Li wasn't usually so dependent on others for entertainment. She would make up her own games or even imaginary invisible friends when she was desperate enough for something to do with some one even if it was all pretend. But not today. Today there was nothing.
Xun Li sighed as she settled down against a boulder that looked eeriely like a monkey's head upside down and looked around the area near their den. She'd played with those trees over there already. Those rocks weren't moveable or talkative. Those bushes were prickly. The insects weren't as active today either so she couldn't hunt a bug just to hunt and do something.
Other so-called small animals weren't so small to Xun Li. So she couldn't go and attempt to hunt them. At least not on there own.
And Mom and Dad had told them not to over exhaust themselves Not to run again for the next few hours. And somehow Xun Li had lost track of her siblings. Again. "Blah!"
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 4:20 pm
 She had arrived back home the night before, after a visit to the West house. Lately it seemed the Empress spent more time outside of her house than within, but she thought that was the way it should be. It shouldn't even be said that the Empress had a 'house'. What she had was a pride, and, as such, she needed to work for said pride, and make sure things were running smoothly.
She had a bit on her mind, considering there was a wedding coming up. As what usually happened when Ting Lan wished to think, she went on strolls. Occasionally she even hunted, though, as an empress, all she needed to do was request that a hunter go fetch her something to eat. She couldn't, after all, be refused.
She had foregone using Jian today, as the blue lioness had gone with her to the West, and been with her nearly every day there. Even the empress got sick of her bodyguard.
She also just so happened to walk by where Xun Li was settled. She didn't immediately notice the cub, though, and just kept on her leisurely stroll.
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 5:12 pm
Xun Li had never seen the empress before. She'd never seen an adult that wasn't Mom or Daddy, actually. She hadn't even seen any other cubs of any kind. But Mom had made sure to teach Xun Li and her siblings what the empress looked like and how to act. Xun Li just couldn't remember how to act.
The female lioness was bigger than Mom, never mind little Xun Li. She was the runt of the litter and the Empress most obviously wasn't.
Xun Li had a battle with herself as she watched the empress's tail twitch just slightly. A big part of Xun Li still thought that was a sign of the tail trying to escape its body. Xun Li was sure Mom would have put biting the empress's tail as a reprimand toward the restless tail as a no-no.
In the process of fighting her need to safe the empress's tail, Xun Li bit her lip, harder than she would have wanted to. ["Ow!"
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 5:45 pm
Her ear flicked lazily to the side at the sound of a noise. She turned her head, eyes focusing on the small cub that sat against a rather peculiar looking boulder. For a few seconds, the Empress was actually puzzled. The Central House was populated by the royal family and very few others, and a cub was definitely a rare sight in these lands.
But her memory won that battle. She had, in fact, seen this cub before. When it had been very small. Very, very small indeed. Yes, this was one of the hybrids from that couple. Truly, Ting Lan had had little interest in that couple, and intended to send them off to another house, and then the cubs were born. So she had come up with a different plan.
If she remembered correctly, and the Empress had a very good memory, this was the cub destined for the West. Her name, or the name that mattered, was Xun Li. "What is the matter, child?"
Truly, she didn't have much patience for cubs. She preferred them when they were older, and better at doing things. But the empress had time to spare, and she wanted to know how the training was going. Cubs were bad liars, so she'd probably get the best indication from one of them.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:42 pm
Xun Li jutted out her lip to show the Empress her bitten lip. It was only swelling; no blood involved. But it had hurt in that shocked way. "I bit my lip, Mistress Empress, ma'am." Xun Li answered, a bit distorted by the shape she'd contorted her mouth into to show the lioness her wound. Xun Li was proud she'd remembered the titles Mom had told her to use when addressing the adults of the pride. She'd have to tell Mom about this later to get a good snuggle tonight.
The Empress's tail seemed to have settled down now that she wasn't wandering in her own mind. Xun Li was happy she didn't have to control herself from pouncing on the rebellious tail. And that it hadn't wanted to escape so much. Tails were odd creatures. They were wild in their hearts. Spirited, as Xun Li often reminded herself. Her lips were happy too. They didn't like being bitten.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:36 pm
Inwardly, Ting Lan thought that this was dumb. She bit her lip? She clearly wasn't cut out for dealing with cubs. At least, not random cubs she encountered. At least the girl showed an effort to have manners. However, she was trained to be elegant, regal and lady-like. So any of her distaste for the current situation was artfully hidden.
She imagined correcting the cub, because ma'am wasn't really a way Ting Lan liked being treated. But Xun Li was a young cub, and expecting too much out of her was just silly, and she was trying to show respect. Besides, the empress wasn't made of stone. She had kindness and patience in her. "That is unfortunate," She said, with a twinge of regret, or concern, for the cub's situation.
"Certainly it will feel better soon." Since there was no bleeding, it seemed unlikely it would hurt for long. Ting Lan herself had plenty of experience healing from wounds, though it wasn't what most would guess upon meeting her. "Aside from that, how do you fare, Xun Li? Is your training going well?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:10 pm
Xun Li smiled at the Empress. She seemed nice, if a little bit unlike Mom. But then Mom was Mom and Empress was Empress. "It stopped hurting already, I ow'ed because of the shock of biting my lips. They don't like that. But you asked what was wrong, and that's what was wrong. That and the fact that I'm a little bored. I'm not allowed to train for long hours at a time. Mom and Daddy say we'd overexhaust overselves and not be good runners because of that. And I really want to keep being a good runner! Make Central House proud of producing me and West House to get me!" Xun Li beamed at the Empress.
"I love training! I even ran facer than my older brother Ruan Yu, and I'm the way tinier then any of them!" Xun Li told her proudly, puffing out her chest.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 8:52 am
That actually did get a genuine smile out of Ting Lan. Not because Xun Li was cute, though the empress supposed the cub qualified as such, but because she wanted to make the pride proud. That was the sort of thing the lioness liked to see. "Your parents are wise." She nodded. Overexertion could lead to injury, and injury lead to downtime, and possibly even being crippled. A crippled messenger wasn't very good.
"That is excellent! And how good is your memory?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 3:20 pm
"Ok, I guess. Sometimes, I remember too many things that have nothing to do with what Mom or Daddy or my siblings told me. But I tend to remember everything they told me. Even the whispered conversations that they have at night when we're falling asleep, so i think I'm getting better. Mom says she's going to train me to filter because I sometimes give too much information that's not necessary. Or muzzle me. I don't know what muzzle means. Is it close to nuzzle?"
Xun Li looked up at the Empress rather expectantly, because she was the empress after all. She'd know these things. She'd know everything! At least everything that was important. Xun Li wondered if she had a magical connection to everything within the pride and thus know all that was important. She decided that was the only thing that really made sense. The Empress was Magical.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 3:51 pm
Listening to the cub, Ting Lan realized her mother was probably right. The cub talked a bit. That was an amusing idea, a mother threatening to muzzle her cub! She supposed there was no harm in explaining what muzzling meant, as Zyanya had probably assumed Xun Li would have known anyways.
"To muzzle you would be putting something around your muzzle, to keep it shut. And stop you from talking." She explained coolly. "I'm sure your mother was just joking." If anything, the cheetah had seemed the nicest one of the pair. The leopard was less friendly.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 5:02 pm
Xun Li opened her mouth and then shut it again quickly, blushing. She cleared her throat and bit her lip again. She could feel her tail twitching and she so wanted to bite it instead. "Mistress Empress, do I talk too much? For a messenger?" She really did want to make the pride proud by being a good messenger. Just as good as any of her siblings. Not worse. "I know Daddy's tail twitches when he's too worried and we have to bite it to keep it from falling off, so that twitches too much. Do I talk like Daddy's tail twitches?"
Maybe she could train herself not to be a bad messenger by talking too much. She could talk less. Short sentences. But then Mom would probably ask what was wrong, and she'd have to tell her what happened today. And how maybe she does talk too much to be a good messenger and then she'd not make the pride proud or Mom and Daddy or her brothers and sister. Xun Li really hoped she didn't talk too much, or at least that it was correctable.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 5:20 pm
Oh dear. Was this cub seeking comfort? Ting Lan was not the person to ask for it. Or so she thought, anyways. The empress often found that even when she didn't feel cut out for things they tended to work out. She could handle it, probably.
"Hmm. Well, you must understand what a messenger needs to do. They need to make sure they deliver the message, without allowing it to be compromised by the messenger's own opinion." She paused, to make sure the child was following. Kids could be slow, but at least this girl seemed clever enough.
"Which is why you need good memory, so you can say it with the exact wording. If you say too much, or change things, that could alter the entire meaning of the message." She nodded slightly, but went on. "And you could also accidentally give away secrets."
But Ting Lan didn't want to give Xun Li the impression she should never speak for herself. After all, if all she ever did was reproduce messages there would never be personal growth. "But I wouldn't say that is the true problem. You can speak as much as you'd like, so long as you know when it is appropriate. You are young, Xun Li, and you still don't need to worry too much, you won't be working for a while yet. There is plenty of time for you to learn what and when you should say something."
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Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:22 pm
Xun Li did feel much better when the Empress put it like that, but she was determined to practice the talking bit more. Maybe she'd start with not mentioning how she heard Mom and Daddy making lots of wrestling noises after they'd tucked her and her siblings together. The last time she did, Mom had mentioned the muzzle thing. So maybe that was one of the not appropriate things.
"Okay, Mistress Empress, but I'm going to pratice that too!" Xun Li sat up and nodded determinedly. She stared up at the empress like she was expecting a mission or a message or something. What Xun Li expected, even she didn't fully know or anything, but she stared none the less at the woman she'd obey and follow even at such a young age.
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 2:15 am
So this was a pretty smart cub. Or at least a cub who knew who to listen to, and that was good. This was the right attitude, after all, and the Empress was pleased. But... why was Xun Li looking at her like that? Oh, yes. She probably wanted something to do. Very well then.
She might as well make sure the other three knew what Xun Li now knew. "So for you I have a task. It seems simple, but it is important. I need you to pass on what I have told you to your brothers and your sister." At least Ting Lan was quite sure it was two other boys and one girl. "Also, inform your parents that they are doing a good job." To be honest, the empress had never expected much from the pair. So at least according to her expectations of them, they were doing pretty well.
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:10 am
Xun Li's ears perked up. She nodded and smiled at the Empress. "I will, Mistress Empress, I promise." Xun stood up, gave the Empress a quick rub on her front leg, because she was a cub and that's how she showed affection, through touch. Than she ran off toward home. She'd at least find some one in the den eventually, so she figured it was a good place to start.
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