[EVENT] Opening Ceremony (Wrap-up/TBC, p.6!)

[Znaruto]

Oh gods! Oh Gods! He was going to die. There was this lion chasing him now. Oh Gods oh gods! He started to hopping as fast as he could. "Hey Hey! You don't wanna eat me! No sir! I will make you .......um...sick.. Yeah! That it! I will make you sick! All the fogs will! Yeah yeah!" He coke as he hop. He hope that this lion would take his lie.  

[Meepfur]

Chemankari nodded, glancing up to the branch the eagle had recently occuppied. "Ratri is a good friend. I'm honored that he deigned to come with me."

"It's alright, that's what I get for not keeping my voice down." The lioness accepted his admission with a shrug and a hint of a grin. "But yes, I do. Khara would hate it if I put a damper on her party, though, I'm sure."

---

To Laanfa, the croaking of the brightly-colored frog was unintelligible, and the racket it made only egged her on. Laughing with delight, the flower-marked juvenile hopped after her prey, batting out at it with her paws. This was good practice for the games, and fun besides!  

[oo Ded]

"I suppose I understand that viewpoint," Safi stated with a shrug and a small, quirked smile. "Festivities have a tendancy to lighten the air. And having people at ease may go to help any issue pass smoothly." His tail brushed against the ground as it went to curl around his back leg.

"But even in a celebration, I can be accepting of some semblance of seriousness." He paused, shrugging his shoulders again. "But either way," He gave another little smile. "My name is Safi'bora. And you don't suppose you could spare a bit of the serious business to partake in some of the feast with me?"  

[Znaruto]

Nooooo that lion didn't understand one word that was coming out his mouth. What was wrong with these felines! He hop around trying to get pass her batting paws. He was not food, got dang it! He ran for his life as he did he saw a a white and blue lion and jump on her back to get away from the other white and blue lion. Maybe this would slow her down. Know feline it most likely not but this could be his way to gain a lead on her.  

[Das Tor]

Sira gave a soft smile to Ulisa, one he only gave she and Haramu. "I know we will." He leaned over to lick her ear. Home. They were home. This was a place where they could raise their cubs without fear of them being constantly rejected or pushed away for their coloring.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ninau nodded at his daughter excusing herself. He understood that this all was a lot for her. Though he'd raised her in the pride's beliefs...it had been only she and he for a very long time. He sighed, and looked oddly at the green male that had sat near their group. Strange male.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Daima looked up from her meal to Ninon, raising a brow, but swallowing her mouthful before she spoke. "I think it's something needed. And I hope that the offering to the spirits brings this place back to life." She...loved the pride. She hadn't been born or raised in it, but she felt at home in it, felt like it was EXACTLY where she belonged. She...was terrified of it ever dying.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mwezi grinned at the little cub that had been there when he'd moved over to his sister (why hadn't he noticed her right away, she was so BRIGHT). "Hey there, kiddo!" And then he looked to his sister. "Definitely looking forward to tomorrow! Ended up missing it last year...pity, considering what I heard one of the prizes was..." He sighed. "Coulda had a chance with the Queen, dammit. But yeah, definitely frog-hunting. Mmmm...tasty little croakers."  

[Meepfur]

"A draw? In advance? But that wouldn't be any fun, especially not for everyone else. Just think how much they'd like to see it!" Khara grinned and lashed her tail. Now she was just plain giving him a hard time, and was apparently intent on running with this until they drove the joke right into the ground.

---

"I'm not sure it's something as simple as an...issue, but hopefully I'm wrong." No, Chem wasn't worried about an argument or even a brawl breaking out. Those things were manageable, far from significant, not worth this deep-seated feeling. But these weren't things to burden a stranger with, and whatever was going to happen tonight - if anything was going to happen at all - she had no way of thwarting it.

"Chemankari," she answered finally. "And yes, I suppose I could."

---

When the frog hopped so high, Laanfa lost track of it entirely. She looked and looked, but she couldn't see it anymore! With a pouting sigh, she eventually gave up on fiding it and set to finding her way back to her mother instead. For all that Apanthi was bright red, it was hard to find much of anyone in a crowd when you were so much shorter than everyone else.  

[oo Ded]

"Chemankari," he repeated as his head gave a nod in a 'It's a pleasure to meet you' sort of way. As he spoke, Safi started moving towards the center of the festivities, eyes on the path before him that lead towards the feast, though he still pointedly addressed her as he spoke. "No, I suppose things never are just simple, are they," he said in a tone that, for the seriousness of the conversation, seemed somewhat lighthearted. At the end of the sentence, the lion came to stop at the feast, looking over his shoulder at her with a smile, seemingly intent on lightening her mood. "But what can you do, hm? Take trials as they come. Worrying over troubles before they arrive is like worrying about the difficulty of a hunt before even embarking; nothing but stress on the heart and an empty stomach."  

[wooga Paes]

The cub was amusing, and a little puzzling for Mteremo. But he also thought she was cute, and the confusing behavior could probably be chalked down to her being a cub, and him not often being around cubs. He was pleased she at least seemed happier now than sitting all alone in the shallow water! He happily ate, occasionally smiling whenever the cub looked up from her own food.

And then ears were talking to him. Oh, okay, there was the whole face! "What was that? Asami?" He admittedly hadn't heard too well, but Mteremo hoped he had managed to get it right. "Nice to meet you! My name is Mteremo."

-

Ani decided immediately that Kiivas'lintu was a cool grown up. "You'll get some stiff competition from me alright!" Amusingly, the 'best frog-catcher' failed to notice another cubs attempts to.... well, catch a frog, not too far off. She was distracted by the conversation.

Another lion showed up then. It was Kiivas' brother! Now Ani wasn't sure if she should hang around here or let the siblings be. "Hello." she said, with a shrug, but didn't want to be intrusive. So she did what she could think of, which in this case was sit by awkwardly.  

[Kaelyndra]

"Mteremo," she repeated, playing with it on her tongue. She was rather good at pronouncing words, but after having extreme trouble as a cub, she made sure to practice each new word multiple times.

The shyness seemed to be passing, but before she could pester Mteremo further, she saw a familiar face.

"Laanfa!" she yelled out, as loud as her little juvenille voice could carry the name. Then, as soon as she had a head swiveling in her general direction, Asami dove.

She aimed for Mteremo's side, bunkering down behind his big shoulder. He was apparently a friend, and therefore was an extremely useful as a visual shield.  

[Tanakako]

The large grey male had been patrolling the far side of the swamps, an area where most of the pride didn't venture, but as an ex-rogue, Szürke needed to move and was used to walking long distances. He had adopted a regular patrol that totally encircled the swamps and it suited him just fine.

Except for perhaps this eve, as it meant that when he finally returned to the main part of the pride's living area, he was late to the festivities. Padding silently through the gathered throng he made his way to his mate's side, his movements as silent as ever despite the proximity of the gathered bodies all around him.

Upon reaching Cayla a rare smile curled across his muzzle and he dipped his head to rub his cheek against the tuft of mane atop her head briefly before settling down at her side, his large bod dwarfing her own. Quietly he settled, content to be near his young mate as the pride moved around them. Having been a loner his entire life, he was not exactly familiar with being part of a larger group, though his time among the swamps and especially, with Cayla were slowly helping him become more comfortable and able to express himself, it was still something the ghostly male found difficult on a day-to-day basis.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

Tanakako

She had been preoccupied and thoroughly oblivious to everything going on around her. Her pride mates had found a frog and the poor thing was being terrorized. Truthfully she wasn't sure what they intended to do with it when they captured it, but it was certainly entertaining to watch and it was giving certain individuals plenty of opportunity to practice for the upcoming events! A small part of her couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she should practice as well, after all, it was no small secret that her skills as a Huntress weren't great - when it came to catching frogs, she was probably going to be even worse.

Thus it should have come at no surprise that she gave a little start as Szurke settled beside her. Oh she'd known that he was a stealthy creature and she never heard him approach, but she was usually a lot more observant. Given her distracted mind, she wasn't prepared in the slightest for the little nuzzle and as such she let out a squeak and glanced up briefly. Fortunately her mind settled immediately when she accounted for the grey male who had taken a seat beside her.

"You are laaaate," she teased him gently and motioned to the feast nearby. She'd taken most of her fill already and there was still plenty to be had. "Where were you hiding?" she mused and tilted her head to the side. "Ooooh did you find any treasure?" she added after a few moments of consideration and flashed a curious smile. Deep down she already knew the answer, but the male needed light hearted banter to relax and she would happily provide this... Beside, being ridiculous was definitely a role she played well.  

[Tanakako]

If it were possible for such a stern, stoic creature as Szürke to blush, then that was what happened when his mate teased him gently, shaggy grey head dipping to meet her warm berry-hued gaze. He didn't react to her startled jump, well used to how absorbed she could be when something caught her interest, and so it was only that tiny, warm smile that touched his countenance as he dipped his head in apology.

"I was ghosting." He replied in his deep, gravely baritone, the faintest traces of his once deeply buried humour lifting to the surface, a tribute to Cayla's long-suffering attempts to get him to lighten up. Even that tiny amount of playfulness was not natural to the restrained male, but under his mate's influence new facets of his personality were slowly coming back tot he surface after a lifetime of being repressed.

"No treasure.. I will look next time." He promised, the smile that had been struggling to break free now unfurling across his muzzle, faint but very much there. Turning to look at the half-eaten feast he leaned forward to snag a lump of meat closer but looked back at Cayla, making sure she had fed before he started. "Are you taking part?" He asked softly, having heard rumors of what the coming event entailed but not sure exactly how things would pan out, as he had joined the pride after the last one had been held.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

Tanakako

She stared at him, and then she stared a little more, perhaps in the hopes that he would consider what he had said and realise where things didn't add up. Alas, in the end all she did was gibe a chuckle and shrug her shoulders in a non-committal fashion. Truth be told she didn't know if she'd participate, she might give it a try, but she would make no guarantees. For the sake of good humour she would probably take part, some of the pride seemed to need a little bit of fun...

Yes, it should have come at no surprise that the young artist had noticed the drought. It was difficult to miss it when the mud you had often crafted with was becoming harder to find. Nevertheless, rather than complain about it she had elected to be constructive and find other means of pursuing her artistic talents. Recently she had taken to 'drawing' rather than sculpting, though it was a bit of a steep learning curve.

"I might..." she replied at last and pursed her lips as she watched a number of lions pursue the frog nearby. "But we all know how fantastic I am at hunting, I think it might put me at an unfair advantage, don't you think?" she mused teasingly and waggled her eyebrows.  

[Tanakako]

He blinked at her staring but had nothing to offer in return, not knowing what he should be saying mainly because he didn't know what she was trying to indicate with the motion and still not comfortable enough around strangers or even friends to admit his lack of social ability. Instead he focused on on her expression, noting the faint pause and in his typically reserved manner, bent his head to touch his nose to her cheek in silent support. Though he wasn't sure who he was comforting, her, or himself. He knew she was worried about this drought, they all were of course. But they still had water and food available and it was not yet a total crisis... so he would not panic just yet. If it came right down to it, he would go beyond the pride's boundary and hunt for Cayla out in the roguelands.

Pulling his thoughts away form the slightly depressing topic, he allowed her to distract them both with her playful words, a fond smile touching his expression. "That is true... but then you have had the best tutelage the pride can offer, you should have an easy win." See, he could be playful too. His gaze warmed as he regarded her. He loved her, and her hunting skills or lack there of only made her that much more endearing in his eyes.

Epine de Rose