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 Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 6:30 am
 The wet, chesty cough rattled through her, forcing her to stand still and just struggle to breathe. The damn thing had started the night before, first as a slight tickle, then a persistent one that had set off her coughing. Now it had become wet and hacking, stealing her ability to breath and think for minutes at a time.
After another few moments the cough subsided and after swallowing around the thickness of her throat, she snorted and resumed her course. She had been hoping to play with her papa today. He had promised her a trip to the boarder, her tagging along as he did his rounds. But with her cough he had forbidden her to go, promising instead they would once she was better again. Instead he had taken her to the healer's area by way of her step-mom, Eva. Eva had given her some herbs that had been bitter but not too bad, then she had stayed with a young apprentice healer for the rest of the morning. With the cough no worse but no better, Sai had snuck out of the den once the young lioness's back had been turned and now she walked absently through the prideland, wondering what to do with her day.
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 9:48 am
He had woken up thinking it would be a fine day. The sun had been shining, casting a warm glow over the land bright enough to chase away the worries that seemed to linger constantly over the pride. Some days, when the sun hid behind a thin veil of clouds and a lonely breeze pushed loose leaves across the ground, it seemed as though there was a cloud, a physical cloud of dread and dreariness hovering over the lands and keeping at bay the better things in life: health, happiness... But today was different. Today promised to be a fine day.
So he had sauntered out of the den, content to spend the day in the warm clutch of the sun. His body had grown, lengthened slightly to take away some of the cub's pudginess that he had carried when he was younger. His legs were a little longer, growing to bear the weight of the sizeable body that was promising to come soon. If there was anyone in the world that Yezekael resembled, it was his father, and Zeki figured as much though he had never met the lion.
Then, not far away, he made out the familiar sight of Saoirse, and simultaneously, joy and confusion at seeing his best friend came over him. There wasn't a day since befriending the young lioness that Zeki hadn't, at some point, paused to think how lucky he was to have a friend like her, a friend with whom he could discuss anything - though admittedly, he had little yet worth much talking about - and around whom he felt completely comfortable. She was his home away from home, the one that he trusted the most aside from his mother.
"See!" He called out, ears pricked as he angled his path to make a beeline toward her. "I thought you were going to the border with your Pa today..." He trailed off, tilting his head curiously. It had seemed to Zeki as though she had been rather excited about it, and it made little sense to him that she was here wandering instead of out having fun like she was supposed to.
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 10:05 am
It was frustrating and more than a little disappointing to be stuck around the dens. She had been so looking forward to going with her papa, the huge lion travailed all the way out to the outer boarders each day and sometimes he'd tell her about the rogues he'd meet and even of the fights that he sometimes had to have to keep the pride safe. Her favorite was a very old story from before Sliabh had acquired his family, that of a brightly coloured rogue who tried to fight her papa only to find Sliabh as unmovable as a mountain. the rogue had sounded really funny and she had begged Sliabh to tell the tale many times in her cubhood.
The sudden familiar call scattered her meandering thoughts and brought a wide smile to her maw. Only one lion called her that. Spinning round she grinned widely as she spotted the pale creamy brown and black bulk that was her closest friend.
"Zeki!" She hollered back, her grin widening as he came up to her and without warning she pounced the much larger youth with vigor. "Hey! What you up tooo?" At his question she slid to the ground and huffed. "Yeah, but papa said I had to stay here today." Plopping her butt on the ground she screwed up her face with an outraged puff. "I have a cough so he wouldn't take me. But he promised we would go next time." Grinning once again she stood and pawed at Zeki's chest playfully. "Didya want to do something? I'm gona go stir crazy otherwise." The usual cheeky female was back as Saoirse grinned up at him expectantly.
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 8:21 am
"Doin' more now that you're here!" He said with a laugh. A beaming smile split his face as she turned and pounced. The sudden weight pushed him back onto his hind quarters, and he ended up wrapping his forelegs around her in a hearty bear hug in order to keep himself from toppling over. Just as well - it seemed like she needed one. Clearly, she was disappointed at the fact that she was stuck inside the pridelands when she was supposed to be elsewhere more exciting.
"Oh..." His grin faded slightly, though more at the fact that she had been let down than anything. His young mind, though rapidly maturing, had yet to connect his friend's newly developed cough to the illness that plagued their pride, and it seemed at worst nothing more than an ill-timed obstacle. Regardless, its presence was certainly not welcome.
"Hm..." Zeki paused to think, a small frown furrowing his brow in concentration. What could they do? He had definitely become a much more skilled tag player ever since they had met, but somehow the beautiful day called for something more momentous than a run-of-the-mill game of tag. Something more adventurous. More... well, fun. He shot her a conspiratorial glance. "Well... I'll take you out of the border."
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 3:36 pm
The sudden enveloping hug made her giggle happily and snuggle up against his larger body, head burrowing against the thick ruff of his neck fur. A good solid hug always made a kid feel better and Saoirse was certainly no exception. With a fully contented purr she cuddled against her best friend, eyes closing in happiness.
It didn't occur to her to tell him she had become sick with the disease, it was so common and so expected that it was just another step for her in pridal life. At his considering murmur she wiggled a little to peer up at him, but stayed against his warmth, too comfortable where she was to move away.
"We can?" She burst, startled and giddily pleased at his sudden idea. "Yes!" Bouncing up she lick-attached his face in excitement then bounded away a few yards, practically dancing on the spot before racing back to his side and pouncing him all over again with her own version of his bear-hug. "ZEKI!" She grinned widely, amber eyes filled with pleasure. "Can we go now?" Thrilled by the idea of going exploring at the boarder with her best friend, Saoirse was practically bubbling.
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 10:36 pm
Ah, yes, a good hug was all anybody needed to brighten up, and snuggling close was definitely an added bonus. He was just about to ruin the moment by tickling her when Saoirse attacked him with affection, and the next moment, she had bounded out of reach.
"Sure can," he managed to say before she pounced him and squeezed him tight. Her enthusiasm was heartwarming, and the young lion couldn't help but feel as though he had done a good deed. Everybody needed cheering up at some point and here, it seemed as though he had done his job well.
"Let's go, then!" He grinned, nodding in a randomly-picked direction. He had never really been to the border, but he figured that no matter where they headed, they would come across it at some point. It hadn't quite occurred to Zeki what they would do if they were to come across some sort of unexpected threat so far out away from the bulk of the pride, but imagine that there would be sufficient cover if they needed to hide from something.
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 12:48 pm
Clearly happy to be going out on her much-longed-for trip, Saoirse grinned brightly at him and turned in the direction he had indicated, falling in to walk alongside Zeki as she plagued him with questions about what he had been up to recently and if he had heard any new stories. But just after they had left the main pride area she paused, clearing her throat carefully. She really didn't want to start coughing in front of him and kept her breathing shallow and even. After a moment she was relieved to feel the urge fade and the tickle in her throat eased. With a smile she grinned at Zeki and resumed their walk as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.
"Did you hear what the Twins have been up to recently? They tried to see if poor old Beo can regrow his tail.. they almost skinned it!" Eyes wide she gave Zeki a shocked look before chuckling. "He has almost no hair on the end now, he looks really odd, kind of half-bald. The Twins claimed they thought he was a snake-who or maybe even a snake-what." Giving him a confused look she added. "I still don't know what that is either...."
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Posted: Fri May 20, 2011 8:30 am
The speckled lion laughed aloud at the barrage of questions, and had just begun to figure out the order in which he should tackle them when her stream of words ended abruptly. There was a strangeness to the moment that Zeki couldn't quite put a paw on, a brief sensation that seemed to say that something wasn't quite the way it should be, and yet...
He wished he didn't have to abandon it, but as quickly as the moment came, it departed, and he was left with few options but to shoot his friend a look of concern and move on. He didn't doubt that she would tell him what it was when the time was right, or when she was ready to, and there was really no sense in pushing for an answer. It all seemed rather premature to him.
"Did they now?" Zeki grinned, shaking his head at this new anecdote. He had never met these particular younger siblings of See's, but from what he had heard (and by now, he had heard plenty... they all had, he was sure), they seemed like a jolly duo and more trouble than any nanny would ever have asked for. "Y'know, I envy those two. If I'd had a partner in crime that looked exactly like me, I would've shaved somebody's tail too." He said with all the mock seriousness he could muster, nodding his head sagely as if truly considering the idea. "I wonder... where I could find myself a look-alike. Maybe I could pay somebody something to turn into me."
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 6:09 am
Smiling warmly she enjoyed the sound of her friend's laugh. The pride was not exactly a vibrant place with so many of them sick, that every laugh seemed that little bit special, and no one had a laugh as nice as Zeki's in her mind. Grinning at his reply she bobbed her head, thinking on the twins for a moment before his next comment made her turn and giggle, jumping to playfully tap him on the shoulder in teasing reprimand. "I certainly hope you don't succeed in that.. two of you would be a little much, you have enough awesome in you all on your own, Zeki." She grinned up at him, amber eyes sparkling playfully.
"And anyway, how would another lion alter to look like you? Unless it was a god then I doubt even lots of dry mud could copy your fur." She gave his body a considering look, admiring his pelt and thinking how pretty it was. Surely no impostor could ever look as handsome as Zeki did. It just didn't seem right.
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Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:02 pm
"What, you think the world would implode if there were two of me?" He asked, grinning at the thought. For a moment, his expression became one of seriousness, and he paused to consider the possibility. "What if..." He said slowly. "What if that really happened..." He couldn't tell whether it would be an occasion for joy or sadness.
Then the look of deep contemplation vanished, and broke out into a smile once again. "It would be hard," he admitted. "So they'd probably have to go a long ways to figure out how. But that's why they'd get loads of compensation!" He decided with a nod of his head. "Lots of it." Though really, he didn't know what.
Suddenly, he stopped to take a good look around, and his grin widened as he sat down and puffed his chest out proudly. "Lookit, See, the border!" He declared, eager to let the world know that he had accomplished his mission and had brought his friend to the border. For a moment, he surveyed the area around him, wondering what it was that made this particular place the end of their land and the start of another. It didn't look so different to Zeki.
But no matter, he could figure that out another day. For now he was here and experiencing this place with his friend. And he couldn't really ask for more.
/fin
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