[PRP] The Big Old Grouch [Ainra + Tiruan]

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Humph. Tiruan grumbled under his breath and rolled onto his side, lounging about in his usual place under one of the large trees. This morning he had followed Mekali all throughout her daily routine, hoping that he would at least be able to tell her, but no luck. He hadn't even gotten close enough to talk to her properly. How was he ever going to manage to tell her he liked her if he couldn't even get close enough to start a conversation with her? And it wasn't like he thought she didn't like him. He knew she liked him in the friend kind of way. But she was a girl, and that meant he couldn't talk to her.

It was only girls, really. Boys he could talk to. Males of any age he could speak comfortably with, even show off. But girls... girls were another thing entirely. His mother had loved him very much, but she was his mother and so she didn't count. His father couldn't even tell him what he had done to get his mother. Thus, Tiruan had no experience with getting girls at all, making the subject a rather touchy one for the grouchy lion.  

[Kimaria]

It was sad really, but Ainra had never been much of a social butterfly. She was a relatively normal cub, playful, cheerful and quite content to just skip the day away. However, life had seemed dull and...boring recently because there was no one to play with.

She bounced along the ground, pouncing unseen objects in the grass as she attempted to create a game that one could play quite happily.

She reached a cluster of trees that grew close to the river that snaked it's way through the pridelands and paused, glancing around. A bird twittered and pecked at the ground and Ainra stalked it. Her pounce was true but her paws were not. They met only dirt and her ears filled with the sharp whistle of bird wings.

It was then that she heard the grumble and the sound of someone shifting. Someone was close by? Her ears drew forward, her eyes bright. Yay! Someone to practise pouncing on!

She lowered herself and crept forwards, her belly scraping the ground. Grass batted her in the face but she was learning, slowly, that she had to work with the grass rather than against it. Suddenly, just up ahead, she saw the tufted tail of a lion.

Barely able to hide her excitement, Ainra leapt, squealing, as she dove for the stranger's tail.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Tiruan closed his eyes with another grumble, too grouchy to even think about girls right now. Perhaps he just wasn't meant to hook up with some girl like his mother. Or maybe he was just supposed to wait until a girl fell from the sky onto him, and she would be his mate. Yeah, that sounded okay. He could wait for that. It most certainly didn't involve any work for him, so it couldn't be too terrible. Besides, that was probably how his dad had hooked up with his mom.

The lion gave his tail an idle flick, unaware of the young lioness stalking it from the grass. He was never really aware of what was going on around him, always too busy grumbling or muttering to himself. Thus, when Ainra came charging out of the tall grass with a squeal, Tiruan jumped, orange eyes open wide. What?! Why were there paws on his tail?! He whirled around to face his attacker, only to find... a juvenile?

Tiruan scowled, tail flicking. "What was that all about?"  

[Kimaria]

The tail suddenly gained a face and Ainra realised - a little too late - that the tail belonged to a very large and very grumpy looking adult male.

She gaped at him, her eyes wide and then slowly she looked down at the tail flicking like an angry snake beneath her paws. "Oops." Giving an embarrased little giggle she stepped back, releasing the tail and giving the male a sheepish grin.

"Sorry! I thought you wanted to play." She beamed at him with childlike innocence. "You sure are a big, fluff ball!" She giggled. "Don't you get hot with so much fuzz on your head, mister?"  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

One ear flicked forward, its twin pressed backwards against Tiruan's head as he studied his attacker. At first, he had assumed it was Akin trying to hunt him again. That was, in fact, how he had met his first pupil. The paws had been too big for a young cub, however, which was why the grouchy lion was suddenly on guard. He rarely spent time with anyone, never the type to "hang out" with any feline. Thus, to have someone come openly into his personal bubble was a bit strange for the lion. It made him extremely wary of the young lioness, despite the fact that she probably was not here to cause him any harm.

"Wanted to play?" Tiruan repeated, still frowning. Since when did playing involve pouncing on an older male's tail? Perhaps it was a female thing. Yeah, that was probably it. Her next comment threw him totally off guard, and he gaped at her. "Big fluff ball?" He sputtered, not entirely sure whether she was complimenting him or insulting him. With a small cough, he managed to regain enough composure to reply to her question. "No, I don't. This is my mane, and I am terribly proud of it if you must know. Only lions get them because females don't need them."  

[Kimaria]

She nodded enthusiastically, not reading his body language at all. It never occured to her that the lion might not want to play, so therefore he must! She wriggled and stepped forwards, watching the tail as if daring it to flick towards her.

Then turning her full attention back to Tiruan she gave him a pretty smile and a look of her large, innocent eyes.

"It sure does look fuzzy." She reached out a tentaticve paw as if tempted to touch it. "But it looks heavy too, I'm glad I won't have that hair all around my face. No good for hunting I bet." She wrinkled her nose and then returning to the original question.

"Soooo, playtime?" Her face was a complete picture of eagerness.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Tiruan was entirely nonplussed about the current situation. That being said, he had no idea what he should do. On one hand, he could just get up and start walking, but he had a feeling that this young lioness would just think it was some sort of game. On the other hand, he could just sit here and listen to her until she got bored. Seeing as neither would produce desirable outcomes, it was a hard decision for the lion. In the end, he voted for number two. That required much less energy.

The lion blinked when she reached up to touch his mane, tail flicking even though he stayed still. "It's not heavy in the slightest. It's a very important symbol, you know. And of course I don't have one. Only lionesses do the real hunting. That's why we lions can have so much hair and look much better." It was clearly a lie, but Tiruan was known for saying such things. Male superiority was his middle name.

"I still don't know what you mean by playtime. Play what?"  

[Kimaria]

Completely unaware of this lion's thoughts, Ainra smiled up at him all the while, her face a picture of delightful innocence. And she was innocent, to a degree. She'd never seen an adult male before and her own brother had not yet started to grow his mane in, though he did have tufts of fur between his ears.

The female was impressionable too. So she listened to his words of superiority as if they had to be true. Her ears were pointed towards him intently.

"A symbol? Of...prettiness?" She smiled a toothy smile, again that innocent expression on her face. "Well so long as you keep it well groomed I suppose it could look nice." Her paw still hovered midair, like a dog offering to shake.

"Playtime! Like...hide and seek, or tag, or catch the fish, or pounce or...well anything! Didn't you play games when you were little, mister?"  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

... She was still smiling at him. Tiruan wasn't entirely sure how such a thing was possible. He had never been smiled at for this long by anyone, especially not a young lioness. Was there something funny about his face? Or maybe she was still laughing about his mane. Yeah, that was probably it. It was still incredibly confusing, and it made it hard for Tiruan to find ways to scowl at her. Being smiled at was incredibly disarming.

"Of prettiness? Of course not! A symbol of manliness. After all, only lions have them." The lion puffed up a little at this, but deflated a little at the next comment. It was probably a good idea to just drop the subject. She wasn't being inspired by his mane of manliness, so that meant he wasn't doing a very good job explaining it to her. That, or she was just really dense and didn't understand that he was a very handsome and manly lion.

Tiruan tilted his head when she began listing off games, some of the titles sounding vaguely familiar. "Games? Well, I might have played some when I was little... but I'm an adult now! Adults aren't allowed to play games."  

[Kimaria]

"Manliness?" She wasn't sure she understood the word but supposed, pretty much immediately, that it was a boy thing. Girls and boys were very different in their ways of thinking. Odd really, considering that they were all lions.

She giggled and nodded furiously. "If you say so mister." She lowered her paw hesitantly and then stood again, waving her tail high.

She was an average lioness in all respects. She was average height, average intelligence and plain in appearance. There was nothing special about her at all. She was what she was, an innocent and impressionable young girl who knew a lot and yet nothing at the same time.

However, at his words that adults didn't play games her smile died and was replaced with a thoughtful frown. "Really?" She believed him. She had no reason not to. "Well then, I won't ever grow up. Ever." And she stomped a paw definately against the ground.

Then as an after thought. "Does this mean you won't play?"  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Good. It looked like she was dropping the subject too. Tiruan was sure he had been right in his assumption that she didn't understand manliness. It was quite possible that this young lioness had never encountered a full grown male before. His mother had told him that many times lionesses raised cubs by themselves, either because the males left them or because the males just weren't around. Tiruan had found the idea a little strange – how were the children supposed to have a good male role model and a distinct female one – but he had accepted it as part of his being "with the times." Still, if he ever had cubs he would be sure to teach both genders about their differences. It was only proper.

Tiruan couldn't help but chuckle a little at the young lioness's direct statement. So she never wanted to grow up if she couldn't play games. That was an interesting thought there. The lion had always been eager to grow up so he would be big and strong, and thus he wouldn't have to worry about anything. It was obvious the young lioness didn't feel the same. "I don't think you can stop growing up. You'll have to become big one day." He tilted his head at the question, a small frown returning to his face. "It's not a matter of will, it's a matter of can't really. I don't play games anymore because I don't know what they are."  

[Kimaria]

"You don't know what they are?" Ainra's expression changed to one of pity, a deep pity that shone glossy in her eyes. They were kindly, expressive eyes, clear windows to her soul. One could look into those orbs and see into her heart, into her mind.

"Then maybe you just need someone to remind you. If we keep playing games then even age can't stop us playing them." She nodded. It made sense. When lions grew, they had to focus on hunting, on protecting, on raising families. Well, playing was as important as all of those things!

"Come on Mister, what do you say?" She smiled warmly and then lowered herself into a play bow, tail swishing. Then deep in her throat a playful growl started and when she opened her mouth the growl turned into a single word.

"Rrrrrrrrrpounce!" And she did. She threw herself right at him, as if he were no bigger than herself.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Now this was a new look. Tiruan studied the expression currently worn on the juvenile's face, trying to decipher what it meant. He couldn't remember ever being looked at like that. It almost seemed like... like she felt sorry for him. But why ever for? Was it just because he didn't know what games were? Surely that was no great crime to lions everywhere. He just didn't play a lot of games when he was young, that was all. Surely the young lioness understood that.

"I... see. Remind me. Right." Tiruan was still quite thrown off by the look of pity she had given him earlier, that thus could only agree with what she was saying. It was hard to keep resisting a cub that felt bad for you. Not to mention that she hadn't said one bad thing about him the whole time they were speaking, even when he tried to do this 'males are better' shpeal. Clearly she was a very interesting young cub. Perhaps he could just go along with what she was doing. At least for now.

"Alright, I'll do my best," the lion replied, moving into a rather awkward play-bow. Was this how he was supposed to do it? Yeah, it looked about right. Tiruan gave a soft grunt when he was hit, leaning back to avoid the contact and in the process toppling over with an 'oof.' Smooooth.  

[Kimaria]

He was joining in! This was fantastic! The little cub, who had sprung at him with a playful eagerness, landed against him. He was much harder to tackle because he was so big. Then she was aware of him rolling, moving away and she gave a little squeak, suddenly imagining herself being squished.

Luckily he had rolled the other way and she lay draped across one of his shoulders, cushioned partly by his mane.

She padded at his mane like a house cat taming a cushion for sleeping on, purring almost manically. "Got'cha!" She giggled, eyes sparkling.

"Now~" And there was a challenge in her eyes. "Come get me!" And with that she pushed off of the lion before he could catch her and sped off as fast as her little legs could take her.  

[Chibi Sheepcat]

Tiruan rolled when he hit the ground, stopping only when he realized that the young female was on him. Whoops, he had better hold still. He didn't want to flatten her. They were just getting starting in their game! The male peered at her when she settled on his shoulder, waiting for further instructions. What did he do now? Was he just supposed to lay here until she decided to get off? He hadn't played these games for so long that he had practically forgotten what he was supposed to do. But he would just pretend he knew what was going on. He was a male after all. He could do this.

With a soft chuckle, he tilting his head, tempted to bat her off of him. She was smiling so sweetly at him though. This young lioness seemed terribly excited about playing with him. Perhaps this was just a cub thing. Tiruan's ears perked when she moved onto the next part of the game, surprised when she darted off of him. Come and get her? That really wasn't very fair. He was quite a lot bigger than her, and thus had a clear advantage. Oh well. Maybe he was supposed to try and even the odds.

The lion smiled a little as he hauled himself to his feet, slowly making his way after his new playmate. "I'm coming to geeeet you~"