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 Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:10 am
When he lived in the life of the higher ranks, when the moon looked upon him in favor, he never would have guessed a slave's life would be so lonely, so exausting. He still did not try to socialize with the other slaves if he could help it, in fact he had grown to be a very quiet lion, but he also yearned for company and social happenings. He longed to be back where he truly believed he belongs, and still he could not understand why the great eye had given him such misfortune.
His tail flicked as he came to a small and cripled-looking tree, bent low to the ground with just enough room to lay under it comfortably. He slouched under it and did lay down, his tongue lolling from his mouth as he tried to steal away his few moments in the shade. At least he'd still not had to deal with young ones or the like. He'd seen some slaves cub-watching and it looked dreadful, especially when they got a pawfull of rambuncious cubs who had no limits or boundries and who enjoyed tourmenting their watchers.
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:34 am
Sure enough one presented itself. One of the slaves, Mvushi, sometimes got stuck playing nanny. He seemed to always be grumbling or seeming upset but always eager to remind people that once he was an honored priest of good standing and that his kindness had put him here. Being free from the burden of any other nanny, she went searching for him, wondering why he didn't have that duty today. She longed to find him if only to get him to tell her again how it was to be a priest.
The story of how he became a slave always left her in perfect awe, that he had sacrificed everything to be with the one he loved only to be abandoned. Panda would never abandon the one she loved. She could take care of him if he'd let her. Her parents didn't much appreciate her fascination but had no issues. Probably because they had no idea of her romantic notions. Or because they thought she wished to become a priest despite the fact her rank was only middle class.
Luckily his coat was like the moon, allowing him to stand out in the grass. So in no time, she spotted him beneath a tree and galloped over, slowing when she got there to try and make it seem more casual. "Hey," she said cheerfully, trying to encourage conversation.
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:55 am
And still when he did not haven to watch cubs it seemed the same little female always came to find him. He'd spotted her a little ways off from where he was laying but had let his eyes move else where and prayed she would not see him. The little girl, he'd not commited her name to his memory, was a bit unnerving. And very annoying. She, out of all of her siblings, always seemed to ask him questions and bug him relentlessly of his past. She stuck to his side like glue when he had to play the part of a nanny and it made him very uncomfortable, especially when her parents were around. Mvushi was not stupid, he was quite aware she had something of a crush on him.
He often tried to discourage such behavior, he was quite a pessimist about love even toward lionesses that could be considered marriage material. He simply did not believe love could be true after the drama surrounding he and Denge. But encouraging a little cub's behavior was out of the question, and Mvushi really didn't know how to deal with it. Still, even if he was wrong and she did not admire him in such a way he still thought how she behaved toward him was weird, and unhealthy. Didn't she have friends her own age?
But then he heard the dreaded greeting and as he kept his gaze off of her his eyes did flick to the corner, to watch her a moment. "Don't you belong under the watchful eye of an adult?" He said, though he knew as cubs got older it was not required that they be watched every moment. Still, maybe she'd snuck away with whatever slave got stuck watching them and he could trick her into going back!
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:11 pm
She smiled at him as though he had made a joke. "But you're here!" Of course she had an adult with her. He was here. He counted. If he thought he didn't, then he should know he mattered in her book. She believed he just didn't give himself enough credit now that he wasn't a priest. She thought it seemed as though he had lost himself as a slave. But that was ok. She'd help him refind himself. "Besides, you tell such good stories. Much better than everyone else." Especially because they were about him. Ok, every child needed a hero. He just got to be both her crush and her hero. Lucky him.
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:28 pm
Mvushi winced as he realized his mistake, he should have worded the question better. He'd basically just volunteered to watch the little twirp. Though he had to admit it did not help that when he was in his better moods he often enjoyed bragging about how great he'd once been, and she seemed never to tired of his story. But on his days where he just wanted to be left alone to mull over his depressed thoughts he found her questioning especially tiresome, especially if she ever brought up Denge. He cursed himself for ever mentioning that bit of her past to the young one, but it explained why he was currently stuck in the dreadful position of a slave instead of his rightful place of a priest. He used to know most of the lions of the pride, though he no longer tried to keep up with no faces. What was the point, when most of those faces would just be ordering him around in the times to come? Often he thought of ways to get back to high standing, but he was sure he was on thin ice with the king. Still, he could not stand the thought of being a slave for many years to come. He'd die young and recklessly, if he had to.
"Of course I tell stories better than everyone else.." He muttered softly, tail flicking as he finally looked to the young thing, head tilted. Still, she knew how to push the right buttons even if she wasn't doing it on purpose. "A good story comes from past experience, and who has such dreadful experiences as I? Once favored greatly by the great eye, respected. And now look at me... the eye has turned it's gaze away." He spat these words quietly, so no others would overhear what he was saying, speaking of what they regarded so highly in such a bitter manner. "You would do good not to trust outsiders." He added, lowering his voice even more. Mvushi certainly didn't know how to praise others any longer, but he was good at getting them to mistrust the outside world. "They're evil, the lot of them." He huffed.
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:36 pm
Panda smiled eagerly as he started talking. Sure it was out of bitterness but he talked for her ears to hear and that was good enough. "You'll teach me what not to do, right?" She asked, implying that he knew better than anyone what to do and not to do, as though he were the wisest of them all. Which he might as well be to her. Since if he told her the sky was orange, she'd believe him and think everyone else had something wrong with them for thinking otherwise.
Panda, being the child of a Lord and Lady, only had so much exposure to the outside world at this point in life. She was to be a huntress but so far much of her lessons were on carcasses brought in by slaves or her teachers or lectures. It'd be a while until she got to do things hands-on with live animals. So while it sheltered her, it gave her time to still run off to be near Mvushi.
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:48 pm
Gods smite him, he just couldn't win! He shifted and stretched out his paws, realizing he should be quite flattered she thought so highly of him, but that wasn't the case. He just wanted to be left alone... sort of. A part of him, perhaps his old self, really did enjoy the attention he was receiving. "I am but a slave, not fit to teach unless ordered." He muttered, still sounding bitter. But he realized again he spoke to swiftly, made a mistake in his words. "What I mean is, your parents should be teaching you things." He said quickly, less she get any hair-brained ideas to order him around. Was he supposed to listen to the orders of young ones? He couldn't remember... he couldn't even remember what rank she was in the pride, how high above him she stood.
"Besides, everything I have done in my life has only led to this point. Why would you want to learn about things like that?" He said, trying to disuade her from wanting to learn. He began to stand and creep out from beneath the tree, thinking he'd better find a way to shake the little one loose. "Where are your friends..." He tried to grasp his memory for her name, but he could not. Oh, wait! It was that really silly name... it sounded very childish to Mvushi, not something he'd want to be called. He couldn't remember the full name though, he thought the second half of her name was a bit better. "Panda." He finally added, realizing he'd waited a bit too long to say it. he probably should have left it off completely.
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:36 pm
Mvushi made a good point. She should be with her friends. They could only spend so much time together after all. Then they'd be grown up and starting families or working. But one was grounded and the other was stuck with a nanny. Panda didn't want to get stuck under the yoke of a watchful eye when that eye wasn't Mvushi or her parents. "My friends aren't available. Besides, you're my friend too. Just my older friend." That counted right? "And good things have happened to you. And if bad things happened to you or mistakes or whatever, doesn't that just make you one of the wisest?"
She just beamed when he got her name. There were so many names to remember that she had to give him credit for knowing hers. Surely it was another positive sign to see.
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:38 pm
Mvushi groaned realizing he could not just win with the little cub, someone really needed to tell her the difference between a slave and a friend. "What can they be doing that is taking up all of their time, cubs don't have responsibilities." He grumbled at her, stretching his paws again as his eyes shifted over the area. Good, no one was giving him funny looks. No, that was silly... there was nothing weird about a slave watching over a child! But now she was referring to him as her friend! Oh if the great eye did not blast him for such a thing her parents might. "You do not make friends with slaves, slaves can't be considered friends." He stated, thinking he might just have to start getting meaner if he really wanted to get the point through to her. "Besides, I'm not friends with lionesses your age." He added, trying to make his tone final.
Wise. Right, wise enough to become infatuated with a devil of a lioness and get tricked so stupidly. Wise enough to risk everything on the stupid idea of love... what a crock. "Hmph, when lions start making such foolish mistakes it does not make them wise, it just points out how foolish they are. Where are your parents?" He began to walk, thinking she'd follow. But he had a plan! He'd just drop her off near her parents, and then things would be alright. Unless her parents tried to say something or make things difficult.... actually.. He glanced over his shoulder and realized with a happy thump in his chest that if he was 'watching over a cub' it was very unlikely others' would ask him to do other favors! This could actually be quite the little gift... "Never mind that. You wanted stories, right?"
Fine, he'd spit out a load of crap and waste as much of the day as he could. It would be... sort of peaceful. He'd do it until he got ... well, overly sick of her to say the least.
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Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 6:41 am
Panda had never heard you couldn't be friends with slaves. If she had, maybe she would have come to learn to look down on them. But as it was, she didn't which could also be contributed to her age. "Well then I guess our friendship will have to be a secret?" she suggested. She really didn't want to loose him just because of some stupid rule she had never heard. "I mean, you can make an exception for me, right?"
But then she laughed. "Where were her parents". "You already asked that question," she giggled. "Yes, yes! A story!" Just what she wanted, enough to ignore his whole thing on being wise which she thought she already explained.
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Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:09 am
He grumbled something incoherent to her words, shaking his head softly. Secret friendship! Crap, he might have been making the whole situation worse than it originally was. Secrets were bad, especially such ridiculous secrets. There wasn't anything wrong with a little girl being friends with a slave, was there? So he should just shrug it off. But the fact was... he didn't want a friend. Especially a small... irritable.. girl... friend. "No secrets.." he barked out, trying to jar his thoughts off of the whole matter. "What I meant was... no... yes, it's fine to be friends with a slave. I just wanted to tease you." He said, his nose scrunching with such a lame lie before he took a deep breath and let it out. "Because friends tease each other, right?" Oh the words made his mouth feel dirty, as if bile was caught in back of his throat.
His tail flicked and he shifted, slowly sitting again. "And what kind of story would you like?" He at least needed something to go on, to make crap up about. He couldn't just pull it out of thin air, that was much too hard. Well, perhaps it would not be after a few times of this. Yes, this was actually the perfect ploy.... Mvushi the cubsitter, can't work today! Now if only he could find a quieter... less interested cub.
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Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 6:10 am
Considering teasing tended to only be from her siblings, those her age, she saw his comment about teasing as a sign that she was doing some good. She must be making him feel youthful. It was a good sign and she broke out into a wide smile at that comment. "Yes friends do tease each other," she affirmed, leaving the other thoughts to herself. It felt good now that she was almost positive they were going somewhere, that all of her pursuits were paying off.
She tapped her chin trying to think of a story to ask for. "Well..." she started. "Hmmm... I like so many of them." She turned over what she had heard in her head and tried to think of what she wanted to hear again or what she had only heard mentioned. "Tell me about the good olds days," she said when she couldn't come to a conclusion. Any one he chose would be just as good as the next and she knew there was enough for him to not have too much of a time choosing. After all, he had lived them so he had to have a steady supply in the back of his mind.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:42 pm
The 'good' old days... what a regretable choice of words, Mvushi's mind almost instantly blanked from hearing the word good paired with old days, but not just before memories of denge flickered through his mind. His nose wrinkles slightly was he turned his head away from Panda, hiding his soured face without thinking as to why he might to such a thing. What did it matter if he showed that he words had upset him? After a moment he was able to look over to her again and he shifted, wondering if doing other lions' work might not actually be that bad...
Of course, he could always go into stories of before he'd met Denge... that horrible.. wicked lioness... how could she have done that to him? His eyes were glued to Panda and a rather scary frown had found it's way to his face, he did not realize he was even looking at the youngster though, he was seeing past her. Why had she betrayed him like that? Why had he fallen so swiftly from grace...
He blinked and shook his head again, coughing gruffly and shifting his position once again. "Heh. Good old days, you say?" His words were slightly bitter but his tone was soft, as if he really would begin telling her stories. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, after a minute a smile had come to his maw. "Back when I was in the great eye's favor with a more respectable standing in the pride I had always enjoyed myself... one would never really think their descent into he-..." He cut himself off before letting the bad word fall from his mouth, her parents would have his head if they heard her saying it and found out where she'd gotten it from. "Such a bad place," Good cover. "could be so swift... or even possible. I never would have thought I would end up doing this.." He eyed her a moment and then snorted, looking around slowly. "taking orders.. ha. Back when I was a preist it wasn't like anyone bossed me around.." Oh, this had turned more into complaining and self pity than it had a story...
His gaze shifted back to the girl to try and figure out if she was bored or not before wondering why the hell he was even trying to humor her, even if it was to get out of his daily duties. "Anyways.. being a former Historian.. I got to know a lot of the pridemembers and made good friends with many of them.." He had to force himself not to spit after saying such a thing. Right... friends... friends who would quicker tell him to find them this or that faster than ask him how his day has been.
(This is.... muddled... im SO sorry it has taken me so long to reply ;-; I've been so ebfsjfs about life lately, but suddenly found inspiration [even though i have a feeling my post was crap lol] and i don't think i will take as long a time to reply again XD)
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