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 Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2010 4:18 am
A small frown passed fleeting across the tan lion’s brow as he regarded the horizon. His face was tight with concentration, eyes scanning across the dunes with the hardened focus of one used to the duties of patrol. Little escaped Azarax’s attention when he surveyed the land; everything was gray to his eyes save various shades of the brightest red—Firekin red—but that wasn’t enough to stop him. If anything, it made him more attentive to the movements of everything around him.
Then slowly, the frown faded, as if at long last, he found the land tranquil enough to satisfy him, and he turned from his position atop the highest dune in the pride’s lands. He never exactly went off duty, but there were times when he allowed himself to relax, a little at least, and stop paying attention to everything that passed by. If he was to be completely honest, it often seemed that he had to consciously stop himself from noticing, as if being in a state of complete concentration had become the norm.
She stalked in the dunes, coming back from a completely unsucessful hunt. That's what she gets for going out without a hunting party. Upon Zynab's face was a scowl that seemed to be her natural expression. There was little she knew of the pride, and knew even less of the other members of this pride. Her mind had been in a haze, it seemed, for most of her life. She didn't take to the lessons, or the history her parents had tried to teach her. And here she was an adult and she knew nothing.
The red and gray female made it back to pride lands, allowing herself to relax when she passed her favorite bolder. She'd get to that later. But right now, she was starving. For food and for some kind of conversation, something other than being left to her own dark thoughts. Thoughts full of self-loathing because she had been a very stupid little girl to not pay attention to anything. Her tail flicked in irritation behind her before she stopped. She had a feeling she was being watched.
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Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2010 4:33 am
He paused, midway down the dune, as he caught sight of a brilliant flash of red, difficult to miss against the backdrop of gray that was the desert in Azarax’s eyes. More than once, he had wished that he could see the world as others saw it, but always he reached the same conclusion: there was a kind of simplicity that came with his brand of blindness that he wouldn’t ever consciously trade. It was complicated enough in the world without there needing to be more.
He peered closer, canting his head slightly to the left as he realized that he did not quite recognize this young lioness. Mentally, he ran through the list of soldiers and guards that he had under his command; he knew of every single one of them, by face if not by name, and she was not one of them. A huntress then, most likely, he concluded. He felt, inexplicably, intrigued, and he turned, altering his course, to walk toward her.
“Good day,” he greeted her, politely, as he was wont to do when meeting new acquaintances.
Her head turned to the voice that had made her fur bristle and her ears go on alert. Seeing it wasn't a rogue, she assumed, anyway, Zynab's green eyes went back to that of a neutral expression and she dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Good day," she said, voice rough and smooth at the same time. Her ears continued to flicker this way and that as she tried to figure out who he was. Was he a pride leader? Doubtful. But he had this air about him; an air of command. It was a damn pity, too. She wouldn't take command from anyone other than a leader or her parents.
"....Something I can help you with?" Though, she wasn't the best lioness to be asking questions about the pride. She didn't shift into a relaxed pose. In fact, her tail stayed unmoving, straight out behind her. She was ready to run or fight, depending on how, or rather, what this male was going to do.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 5:59 am
A fleeting smile ghosted across the tan General’s face as he shook his head. He had never been big on public displays of emotion, although admittedly there had been moments in his life when it had been inevitable. Like the day Ripuka had died on their lands. The passing thought of his mother sent a stab of emotion through him as he remembered the little golden-pelted cub she had died trying to bring to safety. Uddhava, his little brother. He wondered where the young lion was now, how the world beyond the borders of the desert—of home—was treating him.
“I had nothing in mind,” he answered. “I was just thinking; I didn’t recognize you.” He realized that his words might have merited some elaboration. After all, what was it to her that he didn’t recognize her if she didn’t know who he was? Azarax did his best to remain a visible General within the pride, but he was under no illusions that each and every single member of the Simo could recognize him on sight. He wasn’t… that vain.
Zynab shifted uncomfortably at the comment and looked to the side, green eyes finding the sand very interesting all of a sudden. Of course he didn't recognize her. Why would he? She didn't leave the protection of then den until it was her turn for a hunt, and even then she tended to seperate herself from the party. But she would humor him and looked back at him. "...I am Zynab. My parents are Sinbad and Karana'Mzaana." That's how she usually stated things when someone asked. Why change it? The more she looked at him the more she realized she had absolutely no idea who this male was.
"I don't recognize you, either."
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 6:10 am
The name caught Azarax’s attention. Karana’Mzaana. He had met the lioness… quite a long time ago by now, it was. Not long after the rebellion. He had been younger then, less experienced in the ways of the world, and certainly fewer things had happened to him. Back when change had been in the air, and everything was new, liberating, exciting. The thought brought a wistful smile to the general’s face.
“My name is Azarax,” he replied, wondering whether or not to add that he was general of the pride. He didn’t suppose it mattered much, and he wasn’t one to pull rank with lions not under his command. “I know your mother, Zynab,” he added. “Not too well, but we met once.” And he quite respected the lioness.
Her interest was piqued and she gave a short lived laugh. Of course he knew her mother. Everyone seemed to! She sat down on her haunches and stared openly at Azarax, trying to figure out who he was, exactly. His name sounded so familar. "..Maybe mother mentioned you." Her comment came rather off handed since she was mainly talking to herself. So she elaborated for his sake. "Trying to figure out why your name sounds so familar. But, it doesn't really matter. ....Why are you out here? You on the next hunting party?" Zynab just confirmed her rank as a Huntress, but she didn't care. She felt her job important and useful to the pride.
She didn't really wait for an answer before she asked her next question. "Do you know my father?" She loved hearing stories of her father. She didnt know him too well, so hearing about him made Zynab feel like she'd be able to talk to him a lot easier.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 6:31 am
“Patrolling,” he managed to sneak in, just as she began to ask her next question. That one made him pause, and he considered it. Sinbad. The name rang a bell—one of his soldiers. The most striking thing he remembered about him was that the other lion had had a litter of cubs with Azarax’s sister. The one that had grown up with the mother that had abandoned him and that he had never met until late adolescence and, strangely enough, during the Rebellion. He had never been altogether close to Jua—it was difficult to really get anywhere with a sister he had never expected to have—but that hadn’t stopped him from paying attention.
:
Still, he didn’t suppose that something like that was what Zynab had been asking about. The tan lion nodded slowly as he pondered his next words. “Yes, actually,” he said carefully. The mere mention of her father seemed to have made the red lioness perk up a little, and it was a shame that he didn’t have any specific stories to tell. “Not altogether too well either, unfortunately. He’s one of my soldiers though, I know.”
The girl listened with interest as he talked. Well, she knew hew was a soldier. Woah. Pause and rewinde that whole conversation. A puzzled look appeared on the girl's face before she finally asked. "Your soldiers? So you're like.. the general." It wasn't a question, but a realization. Then she put her face in her paw and groaned. Great. She was talking to the general. And she had no manners. Her ears flicked and with a heavy sigh, she looked back up at him. "Well, hello then, General Azarax." Her voice wasn't saracastic in the least bit. It was quite serioius, but she made no attempt to look welcoming or even stand up straighter.
Why do that when she could just be herself? Just because he held some power in the pride didn't mean she had to suck up to him. It was not in her nature to suck up and kiss his a** just to get out of trouble. Some weaker female might cower at his paws, but she would not.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 7:06 am
Well. It had not been his intention to embarrass her in the least, and now… now he just felt kind of bad. Or, well, no. Kind of was not the kind of emotion Azarax tended to feel. But it was enough to induce some guilt in the tan lion. But regardless of what either of them had done, he felt that she was a rather genuine creature, and he could see that she was polite, but not fawningly so. She had some guts, this Zynab. And principles, and that he couldn’t help but admire. Perhaps he would have to introduce her to Atesh.
:
Huh. The thought made him pause. The idea that he could play matchmaker for his son had never crossed his mind before. Azarax appreciated Atesh’s dedication to his training and his duties, more than the tan lion could express, but sometimes the boy just worked a little too hard. He made a mental note to return to the idea at somepoint.
In response to Zynab’s reformed greeting, he smiled and inclined his head in acknowledgement. “And you, Zynab.” He replied. If he was mildly amused by the lioness’ reaction to her revelation, he didn’t show it.
She smirked when he welcomed her again. It was funny to Zynab for some unknown reason. This whole situation was amusing. Meeting a general without knowing he was one. And he didn't really tell her he was. She was a bit wary that he wasn't pulling the rank card. If she had that kind of power, she would. She'd flaunt the position like no one else woud. She would so get on everyone's nerves with it, too. "So. If you're the general, why aren't you with your troops? Shouldn't you be looking over their training?" She had no idea what a general did, really.
"So my dad isn't that memorable. I suppose that's not surprising. Just a kind of blend in, hm?" She truly was curious about what he did, what it was like to be a soldier. Maybe she could get some training in with a soldier or something. She wanted to get stronger, but that meant being around others. That's something Zynab wasn't exactly ready for.
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:48 am
"I do," Azarax said with a nod. "But old habits die hard. I've grown so used to patrolling every day, so I slip away at times. And I trust my captains. They're usually the ones most directly involved with the soldiers' training." He was tempted to say more, but caught himself just in time to realize that perhaps Zynab didn't care much about the workings of the Army.
As General, he had a tendency to lose track of what did or did not necessarily concern others. The pride he held for his troops always shone through when he spoke of them, and he rarely hid the fact that they were his pride and joy, but that was hardly an excuse to ramble. It would have been most unseemly of him to do so.
"I'd like to say that every soldier is unique - which, they are. There's no doubt each of them is unique, but sometimes when you're overlooking an entire army, you're forced to reduce your troops down to obedience and performance in order to get a general idea of what happens." It wasn't exactly a proud admission, but it was true, and what use was it to lie to the lioness about it? What he never did, though, was forget one of his soldiers.
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:03 am
"Simplify the crowd to get an understanding. Good strategy. Shifting from paw to paw, Zynab nodded, thinking about what he said. He let the captains take over; smart move. Especially if he wanted to go look at new recruits and hand pick them. Oh, the things she would do if she was the general. She'd keep that bit to herself, though. Green eyes flicked upward before sighing and shaking here head.
"Sorry do do this to you, sir, but I best be off. I have to go answer for coming back with no food after my hunt." She didn't like the idea of being 'scolded' but she couldn't help it. It was, literally, out of her paws sometimes, when it came to hunting by herself.
Yes, Zynab was curious about her father, but it seemed the General had other things on his mind other than just catering to her pesky curiosity. Flicking her tail, she got to her paws again and stretched out. "Maybe I'll run into you again, sir."
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:14 am
"Don't worry about it, Zynab," he said understandingly. No doubt, others had busy enough days to keep them occupied. Azarax wasn't self-occupied enough to imagine that he was the only one with a busy schedule. "And no doubt, we'll meet again." Now that he had marked her face, it seemed much more likely that he'd run into her again.
She seemed quite the character, though, this lioness, and one that would perhaps mesh well - or at least, interestingly - with Atesh's. Not for the first time, he considered his options as matchmaker for his son. Perhaps he could make sparks fly, or maybe just give the poor boy something to gripe about for a change. He was always so eager, so willing to perform and to prove himself that Azarax hardly recalled any instances in which the striped lion had put himself first and decided to complain. Though that wasn't his main intention at all.
Then, having bid her goodbye, the tan lion turned and paced off along the dune, resuming the reassuring pattern of his daily patrol, thinking all the while of the possibilities that had arisen with his chance meeting with Zynab. Yes, things were falling into place as he hadn't imagined they would before, and he couldn't wait to get home to discuss the details of his half-formed conspiracies with Yin.
/fin?
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