[JRP] First Impressions (Banquo x Chapeo)

[Mogami]

Banquo walked with painfully slow steps towards the border of his pride. He paused to acknowledge one of the Guards on duty before continuing on his way, silently considering the time he’d spent in the Suka’Fumo. He was slowly losing contact with the group he’d arrived with at the pride and finding students was proving to be a more difficult task than he’d anticipated... even Banquo had to admit he felt lonely sometimes. But he’d also made a friend in the cheerful Derasan and he was on good terms with the odd Costumer who had created his current adornments.

Pff…! The striped lion wasn’t particularly fond of his new trinkets but he definitely needed something to help him fit in into this strange new pride - because his personality and demeanor weren’t exactly doing a very good job at it.  

[Cajanic]

Bouncing- she liked bouncing. The way her mane swayed about in the wind, no order or rhythm, felt perfect. What she wouldn’t give to be just like her hair! So happy, so free, but always tied to the earth. Of course, she wouldn’t want to be stuck in one spot forever, naturally.

But having some place to call her home wasn’t a bad thing, was it?

As she bounced about, the female smiled contently to herself, imaging her purple frame as nothing more than wisps of hair as she tried in vain to catch the breeze. Her bouncing only halted when she spotted another lion not too far from her- wearing what had to be the most amazing things she had ever seen. Gasping, she sprang forward, nearly landing on top of the unsuspecting male as she brought herself beside him. “Hello!” she almost sang, “you look so pretty! What are those things?! Where did you find them? Can I have something, too?” She beamed at him, teeth bared only because she happy to be giving him a very large smile.
 

[Mogami]

Banquo watched as the lioness moved closer with the low level enthusiasm that he usually displayed but her strangely boisterous approach caught him off guard. He leaned back as much as he could, frowning a little as he took note of her mostly purple coat. She would fit in the Suka’Fumo nobility rather easily, the Scholar believed.

“Are you… part of the pride?” he asked quietly in his typically deep voice just to be sure he wasn’t talking to a member of the upper class, completely ignoring her interest in his new adornments. Though if her friendly demeanor and Banquo’s previous experiences were to be trusted, she most certainly did not belong to his pride’s nobility.  

[Cajanic]

“Ooooo, is this a pride?” Asked the female, moving past him suddenly to peer down the path he had come. “It just looks like rocks and trees to me! I guess prides don’t really look that different from not-prides, huh?” She concluded with a sagely nod her comment really didn’t deserve. Sitting herself down, she looked over her shoulder, back at the very nicely dressed male.

She still wanted to look pretty, too. However, she didn’t seem to mind, or even notice, that he hadn’t responded to her comments. Nor had he answered her question. If this was a bother to her, she was very good at pretending she was fine.

“Is this a nice pride? Are prides like heads?” She asked, still thinking about her mane and how the hairs were grounded on her skin. Grounded, but at the same time, free to wave about however they want, all together or individually depending on their moods. She smiled at the stranger, waiting for him to reply, expecting him to know exactly what she was thinking about.
 

[Mogami]

When she moved past him, Banquo took a quick step to side to make sure he would be able maintain a comfortable distance from the purple lioness who – very obviously – was overwhelming him much like those persistent cubs who the Scholar had trouble dealing with. “Yes, this is a pride. If you keep walking that way, you will be stopped by one of the guards.”

He eyed her curiously, trying to make sense of her last question but finding no explanation for it, Banquo chose to ignore it. It had worked before.
And… nice? Was the pride nice? The striped lion pondered on this question for a few seconds before reaching a conclusion.

“Yes. It’s a very nice pride. It’s called Suka’Fumo.” He was finally paying more attention to the lioness and he quickly noticed she had orange eyes very similar to his own. “Someone like you would be very welcomed there.”  

[Cajanic]

“I like that name!” Chapeo smiled, her tail beating against the ground in her excitement. “Will the guards not let me look around? I want to see this pride of yours… I want to see if it’s really that nice!” She liked the idea that she would be welcomed there, though she couldn’t imagine why.

Most of the time, it seemed like other animals wanted to be rid of here, not welcome he to their pride. She wondered if he was just trying to be nice. Not that she cared either way. She was so used to the way others treated her that she simply decided not to let it bother her one way or another. Welcome or unwanted, she could fine things to keep her happy, right?

Another reason she wanted to be away from the rogue lands.

“Are you welcomed there?” She asked after a moment, “what’s your name?”
 

[Mogami]

“If you obtain the King’s permission, I’m sure you can look around. Any guard will take you to the King’s presence if you request it, I think.”

Was he welcomed…? Well, now. That was one uncomfortable question, with a rather awkward answer if he were to be completely honest. Truthfully, with a few exceptions… no, Banquo didn’t really fit in or feel completely at home in the Suka’Fumo. He could tell there were many that would rather avoid him and getting students wasn’t exactly easy for him. He was trying though, he really was.

Of course, he wasn’t going to tell any of that to a complete stranger. This time, however, he wasn’t sure how to dodge the question so it took him a few seconds to answer. She truly new how to catch him off guard.

“I play my part in the pride. I’m Banquo, a Scholar.” He took a few steps towards the border, always careful not to get too close to the lioness. He felt like he should say more but he'd never had to describe the pride to an outsider before. “I do think you would enjoy living in the Suka’Fumo. It’s a place filled with entertainment and crafts. And because you are purple, very little would be asked of you. You would belong to the upper class and be considered part of the nobility.” Unless she would chose some other rank… Banquo wasn’t sure what was going on in her head right now so her future opinions on such matters were completely foreign to him.  

[Cajanic]

“Banquo! I like that name- I’m Chapeo!” She smiled. Their names almost sounded similar, in the way that they weren’t similar at all except for the fact that they both ended with the same letter. But, no matter, it still was a more similar sounding name than any other she had come across. More reason to like the seemingly shy white lion, as far as she was concerned.

Names were very important, and she liked his.

“It does sound like a nice place,” she said as he explained the pride a bit to him. The more he spoke, the more she wanted to see it. Perhaps she would be able to make lasting friends there, where she had failed in the rogue lands to. They were always moving there, always disappearing. In a pride, was it different? Did they stick around longer?

She wanted to know, though the idea of talking to a guard was a little intimidating by the name of it alone. Guards. They sounded more like lions meant to keep others out, rather than let them in. All the same, a little fear was a small price to pay for a possible new home.

“What if I don’t want to be treated better than others?” She hummed, “I wouldn’t want to be treated better than they treat you- you’re an older member!”

 

[Mogami]

Banquo’s eyes narrowed slowly and he leaned back again, staring at the purple lioness in silence for a few moments. He was usually prone to long silences and the fact that the lioness was asking questions that delved deep into the heart of the Suka’Fumo customs wasn’t exactly helping.

“Well… you could live in the forest.” He said at last and immediately regretted it. It wasn’t that he was judging the way the fairy folk lived – he knew a few of them after all – but it probably wouldn’t look good if it became known that one of the new Scholars was pushing noble-looking newcomers to the forest. “There is a big group there. The rules are very lax but… the lifestyle… it’s not... not really… ah… I wouldn’t advise it.”

He sighed quietly and continued talking though his tone – firm at first – slowly grew weary.

“All prides have their customs and traditions. I came here and was accepted so I don’t think I should really judge or fight them. It just is. If you come to land that likes purple coats then you can either accept it or leave. I chose to stay.” His bright eyes were fixed on hers and he sighed again, his words growing a little stronger again. This was the most he had talked to anyone this week and it was as if he felt it taking a toll on him somehow – as if he was easily exhausted by any kind of social interaction. “You can just enter the lands as a visitor and see if you like it here. I think you would. You can also become a Nurse if you find that the Noble lifestyle doesn’t suit you.”  

[Cajanic]

Mogami

Chapeo smiled. He seemed to like his home, and she couldn’t get mad at him for that. It seemed unlikely that she could get mad about anything, though. “I like your answers, my friend,” she informed him merrily, as though he had just passed some kind of a test, “I think I will go see your pride lands, and maybe I’ll even make it my home, too! It sounds like there’s lots to learn and do, so I’m excited already!”

She bounced around for a bit, before realizing that she didn’t know exactly which way she ought to go first.

“Oh, well, maybe I’ll let you lead me around a bit, okay? Let’s go! I want to be part of this place now! I do! I do!” She had made her decision. Not that it had been a difficult one ofr her to make. Choices weren’t too hard on her, thankfully, and she rarely came to regret her actions in life. They all led somewhere, right? Good or bad, at least there was something to be said about the adventure. Even if guards seemed scary, she wasn’t going to be run off.

“I’m happy I got to meet you and not someone less nice,” she added after a moment, a pleasant smile on her gentle face, “thank you for telling me all of this, um…”
 

[Mogami]

Cajanic

Banquo was surprised by her excitement but he found it somewhat endearing to watch her bright reactions and even smiled a little. The Scholar was even more surprised that she’d called him nice because that was something he hadn’t been called in… well, ever. Banquo hadn’t exactly been a cheerful fellow even before tragedy had struck his family.

He was starting to believe the purple lioness hadn’t met many friendly lions during her travels or simply not many in general but he didn’t bother to tell her that she wouldn’t have that sort of troubles in the pride. He was certain everyone would be nice to her in the Suka’Fumo, whether they truly meant it or not.

“Alright, I will take you to one of the Guards. He’ll take it from there.” He nodded and started walking back to the heart of the pride, often looking back to see if she was still following him.  

[Cajanic]

Mogami

Chapeo grinned merrily and nodded. Banquo was a nice lion, in her book, and she would always be happy to speak to him. Though he didn’t seem the most bouncy of the lions he had met, he wasn’t trying to kill her, either, so that put him higher up on the list than most right away. For some reason, she seemed to have a tough time making friends in the other areas- the rogue lands didn’t like her.

Maybe this pride would.

When she told him where he would take her, she nodded and sprang after him, hoping to fall in line beside him. Instead, she ended up accidentally bumping into him, the lioness letting out a light laugh as she rubbed against him. She continued forward, so excited by her welcoming that she barely seemed to notice too much of what she was doing. Or maybe she knew exactly what she was doing. With her, it was difficult to say for sure.

-fin