|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:25 am
She had just finished dragging back her kill from her hunt, freshly bathed as well. It was more for the sake of working off her frustration than anything else. After stepping down from her captain position she felt there wasn't much else for her to do. She had been loathed to give it up, but as well groomed as she was when it came to handling her appearances and reputation she'd not let onto the fact.
Truth be told, the general lack of fighting had her on edge. As captain of offense she'd at least had something to focus on, but those days were in the past. She needed a new project... perhaps another litter, as her first had turned out only partially as planned. Hiashi remained her crowning achievement out of the whole lot, but it was only to be expected that she'd hone in on one or two favorites. She could do better. The next litter she had -would- be better than the last.
Now who could she get to donate their time and genetics...?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:39 am
Aibisho was wander aimlessly per usual, his face set into its usual scowl. He didn't try to alienate everyone but he seemed to just have a general knack for it without much effort on his part. It had only been recently that he realized his own foul attitude was responsible for his lack of companionship but with it being so completely natural, it was hard to appear otherwise.
He was vaguely aware of the scent of blood as he let his feet wander across the open sands, his pads hardened against the heated grains that met his paws with each step. He unknowingly shifted himself towards that direction, vaguely curious in the back of his mind - the part that was still functioning outside of his obsession with memories past.
As he came upon the lioness his attention came back to the current world, to the place his paws had taken him, and he hesitated. Didn't he know who this was? Hadn't he heard something about her? He scowled at his poor memory, realizing that he had 'heard' a lot of 'things' about a lot of 'lionesses'. This damn pride and their characters.
Finding that he had nothing to say, no comment to make, he just watched her from the careful distance. She'd caught a meal and his stomach rumbled at the sight of it, realizing just how long it'd been since his last. Better to be safe than sorry though - one didn't just waltz up to a firekin lioness fresh from a kill.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:53 am
She looked up at the sound of another lion's approach, quiet though it may have been. Not surprisingly her eyes met with red and black, two of the three most common colors to be found amongst their kind.
"Don't you know it's impolite to stare?" She quipped "innocently", knowing fully damn well why he was being cautious. Either he knew her reputation, or more likely, he knew better than to cross one of their females needlessly, especially just returning from a hunt.
Planting her paws on the hide of her kill as she sat up Azula regarded him with ever calculating eyes, waiting for a reaction or response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:00 am
Aibisho of the past would have instantly taken offense and, deep down, his guard flew up against her. His body became a little more rigid, his eyes stared at her just a little more intently, and his jaw set tightly against whatever words he was swallowing down. If he was trying to change his flaws he had better start doing so in the face of one that could potentially be a threat.
"It's more impolite to interrupt," he said with the faintest shrug, though it was somewhat awkward with his sudden rigidity. He wasn't sure he could win a battle of wills with her, not knowing the qualities most females had in the pride.
Then he was simply left there, looking out of place and uncomfortable in her presence. He might have curbed his irritation but it certainly wasn't helping him to be any less socially awkward. That thought made him sneer a little, but he dropped his eyes from her in an attempt to avoid making the wrong impression.
He was never going to get this right, was he?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:11 am
It might not have been the desired result for him, but to her it was like the thrill of the hunt all over again. It was almost all she could do not to smile in that cold way of hers.
"You're not interrupting anything. I was just feeling bored. You're welcome to this kill if you'd like." Azula offered, all milk and honey. There was certainly a catch, anyone that knew her could have warned him of such, it was merely a question of what. Little did he know she was sizing him up as a potential father to her cubs, now that she'd decided that it was what she wished to do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:19 am
Instantly, doubt seized him. What firekin lioness willingly gave up a kill just because? He instantly suspected an ulterior motive but, at the same time, the growls in his stomach were beginning to overcome all logic.
At first, he took a few slow steps towards her, hesitant. His eyes narrowed on her as he tried to pick out any tell-tale sign. Sadly, hard as he tried, he couldn't find any sign that glared 'liar'. She was either honest or really good at hiding whatever it was she didn't want him to know.
Finding that he could no longer ignore the pain constricting his stomach, he made a more confident stride towards her kill. He did pause a few steps from both her and the downed prey, tilting his head a little as he sized her up one last time. "You're absolutely positive?" He wasn't sure what kind of answer he expected, honestly, but he would have kicked himself if he hadn't taken every precaution necessary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:11 pm
He wasn't stupid, nor overly trusting, good. None the less she stepped back away from the kill, removing her paws from it's hide and circling away from it to sit.
"I certainly wouldn't offer if I weren't sure." She replied, settling back to sit on her haunches. "I'm not the type of female to make decisions lightly."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:27 pm
He eyed her for a few minutes longer but finally decided that what she said sounded realistic enough that he could trust her.
As she moved away he moved towards the kill, sitting himself down slowly beside it in a manner that read as overly-cautious. Regardless, he hunched over the preybeast and tore away a piece of meat from it's tender underbelly. He chewed the piece down slowly, savoring the taste that flooded his senses, though his belly cried for a faster fill. He wouldn't look like a slob - and he wouldn't let his attention drift too far from her.
As he swallowed the first piece he inclined his head to her, muttering a soft, "well, thank you very much for being bored, I guess."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:44 pm
"Aibisho's your name... isn't it?" She asked with almost exaggerated casualness, not moving from her spot or giving any indication that she planned to. Looking him over as discreetly as she was able told her what she basically wanted to know. He was fit, though she deduced at least that much since he had been accepted into the pride. Where were his roots, though? Who was he? She couldn't decide lightly, as she herself had just said. If there was any sign of weakness in his family she wanted to know before hand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:46 pm
He paused halfway through another bite as he heard his name on her tongue. There were countless numbers of lions in the pride now and she managed to remember his name? He stared at her long and hard then, cautiously peering at her over the side of the prey beast, from the point he had leaned down to take the bite. Something about her was.. setting off alarms inside his skull.
Then he had it, and the idea was almost so unnerving that he had to bite back a sneer. She reminded him of Kenna. The brutal, dangerous queen that had led the pride out of the traditionalist's lands. There was that same electric, dangerous air about her. There was something in the way she watched him, like Kenna had watched all her subjects in the days before the merge.
"Yes," he said slowly, lifting his head up and cleaning the blood from his maw with a calculated lick of the tongue. He was tense again, understandably at least in his mind. "I'm afraid I don't know who you are, but then again, I don't know a lot of the pride." For what it was worth, he had managed not to curse at all. It took a lot of effort but, in the back of his mind, he remembered how easy it was to set Kenna off sometimes - no need to risk it with this gal either.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:55 pm
She almost felt a delighted shiver run up her spine... but only almost. She loved to see the looks on other's faces when they realized they were in the presence of a deadly predator, even if they were of the same species.
"Of course, how rude of me. I'm Azula..."
The pause between his question and her answer was flawlessly timed, but even as she spoke she had already made a neat list of that which she needed to know as far as his qualities went. She liked the fact that he was smart, at the very least smart enough to sniff her out. So many that she'd come across had considered the fact she appeared a dedicated member of the pride who had risked life and limb in the rebellion as proof enough of her loyalties. The fact that this male was on edge around her anyway for reasons entirely unrelated to her ability to command caution... that deserved a LITTLE credit. He had survival instinct if nothing else.
The trick, therefor, was going to be seducing him without terrifying him into such a state of wariness that he wouldn't get near her, but wasn't it always? If you compared Azula to any other creature on the planet, ANY at all, it had to be a black widow spider. One had to pity any male that she'd set in her sights once she was done.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:06 pm
"Azula," he repeated after her, like some slow lions might do just to remember names. Yet, it was quite obvious that this was not why he was saying it - as he spoke his eyes shifted to the left and he narrowed them slightly on nothing in particular. In fact, the name had simply struck some kind of memory and he was attempting to recall.
Sadly, he dropped his gaze back onto her once he realized he wasn't going to be able to draw it out. One paw came up to rest atop the kill she had given into his possession and for a moment he simply stared at her as he tried to decide what the best course of action was.
She was lingering after all, which meant the lioness must have wanted something. "So, Azula, what do you want?" Blunt was always his favorite tactic. Well, it was pretty much his only one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:13 pm
If it wouldn't be the type of undignified response that was completely beneath her Azula might have snorted. Ladylike she was not, but she still had her pride, so instead she simply didn't react, she had more control than that. If there was any reaction it was in her small smile, somehow lacking in warmth but full of thrill.
"Tell me, Aibisho, how much do you enjoy a good spar...?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
