[JRP] Unexpected Development (Ambrosio, Pirato) - Fin

[Pearlyblue]

The blue-flecked leopard was having a grand time. Having spent the day putting as much ground between himself and the lion he stole a good chunk of food from, he had reached a beautiful beach by the afternoon. And walking along said beach, revelling in the salty breeze and all the interesting little tidbits that washed up, he had encountered a very pretty lady lion who seemed to have been doing much the same thing. On a whim, he had decided to introduce himself as Ambrosio, and they were currently walking together, chatting about everything and nothing, and laughing every now and then. Mostly at his jokes.

He could tell that his charms were working on her, but he also knew that he wasn't going to get any further with this lady than some flirty cuddling, but that was okay. She had a shiny little bracelet that he figured would be a good compensation for his frustration. The lioness was currently chatting away about her pride which lived around here, but he wasn't paying as much attention as his facial expression would make it seem - his mind was quite bent on how to best relieve the pretty girl of her pretty trinket without her noticing it.  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

The blue bird circled over his head, alerting him that someone was around the lands. He decided to take a leisurely stroll around the beach grounds, and to let his paws splash in the salty water. He wasnt harsh about visitors, but he at least liked to know when others were around, and who they were. Just in case trouble arose. With a yawn, he stretched out his legs and began walking. Dax crying out overhead about which direction he should follow.

"Right, yes, Dax, I got it." He said irritably. Sometimes the bird just would not shut up. And everytime he chided him, the bird would grow incredibly angry and sometimes would flit down to peck at his head. Some friend he was! But he didnt mind the bird. In fact Dax was a huge help in most scenarios.

He didn't walk long before he saw a leopard walking with one of the prides corsairs. He wondered if he was wooing her away, and was about to intervene, but he caught that glint in the leopards eye.. The same glint he got when he wanted something. He saw the shiny gleaming about the females ankle, and smiled. This should be interesting.  

[Pearlyblue]

After some careful consideration, Ambrosio decided that the simplest approach was the best one, and it would serve a double purpose since he was also growing tired of listening to the lioness talk and talk. He began coming on stronger, pretending not to notice her increasingly unsubtle hints that she was not interested in a scrawny little leopard.

When she finally got to the point where she physically put her shoulder against him and shoved him away from her, he gleefully misinterpreted it (on purpose) as an invitation to more physical games, and tackled her right back. In the confusion of flailing limbs he easily slipped one claw in between the bracelet and the lioness' paw, and tore the simple knot. The lioness was far too busy being outraged and angry to notice the slight tug, and when he scrambled to his feet, Ambrosio was quick to put his paw over the fallen trinket.

What came next was as expected as it was painful: The lioness socked him right in the face (at least she didn't use her claws) and started yelling at him to stop following her. He stood stock still, feigning shock, and waited out her abuse.

It was a very shiny bracelet. it was worth it.  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

He wasnt going to get in the way of the two. In fact, he didnt much mind if she was stolen from. If she was stupid enough to allow it, then she could deal with the consequences. Though that was just his opinion and currently that was the opinion that mattered. He watched them start to grow physical. Rather, the male try to get physical. He was watching the males eyes, and he never lost that look of the bracelet. How was the lioness so oblivious?

He waited for her to leave, cursing as she went, and he took that as the chance that he could approach. With a smile, he started heading towards the blue and grey tinged leopard.
The female passed him on the way, still cursiing and she even cast him an angry glare. He did nothing but smile once more, and ignore her, continuing his path to the male.

"Quite the con you pulled." He said.  

[Pearlyblue]

He watched the lady leave with a relief that he was careful not to let show, in case she would turn back to send him a last glare. She didn't, but the leopard's heart still sank in his chest as he saw her walk past a rather big, red lion male, who seemed to be coming straight at him.

His ears twitched as his mind began thinking very fast. The male was smiling, at least, but that didn't have to mean much. How long had he been there? Had he seen Ambrosio steal the bracelet? Was he going to be hostile? He didn't look hostile, but you never knew.

Okay, step one: Admit nothing. Maybe he just wants to talk or something. Step two, if he did see the bracelet fall: Pretend to be innocent ("Oh, she must have dropped it!") Step three, in case of aggression (Ambrosio groaned inwards): Leave the bracelet and run run run.

He waited the lion's approach with submissively lowered ears and a small smile on his face, but was a bit startled when the big male cut right to the chase.

"Er... con?" Stick to the plan! He recaptured the smile and tilted his head a little to the side. "I... I'm not sure what you're talking about, good sir..."  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

Pirato scoffed and rolled his eyes. He wasnt really fond of lying but sometimes a liar was just what someone needed in a pirate. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"Don't play me for a fool, boy. I know what I saw." He said, and looked him up and down before flicking a white dread out from his red eyes. He had seen it all, and he wasn't about to let the other believe he had gotten away with it.

"A good thief, would have known I was watching the entire time. Are you not a good thief?" He asked, teasing a bit before sighing.

"Whats your name, boy?"  

[Pearlyblue]

He really didn't know how to react to the way this conversation was going. The blue-flecked leopard had first steeled himself for a hasty retreat, but then this lion started talking as if... as if he approved.

The leopard blinked in confusion, and heard himself mumble: "Well, I... I just didn't see you there, I... may have gotten a bit distracted for a while... Eyes on the prize, you know, er..." He lowered his ears and his head, looking up at the white-maned lion almost unconsciously as he would to a superior. There was just something about this lion, the way he carried himself and the way that he spoke, that made him feel impressed. He wasn't at all upset at being called 'boy' in fact, it seemed quite fitting, somehow. "Um... My name is Ambr... no, it's Ibala'luhlaza, sir."

He didn't particularly like his given name. There wasn't much to be proud of in a name that meant 'Blue-flecked.' His mother had really had NO imagination at all. That's why he usually preferred to introduce himself with any name that happened to strike his fancy at the time.

His tail swished from side to side a little as the embarrassment of his stupidly simple given name quickly rose, and he hastily added, to appease his own sense of pride:

"But I prefer to be called Ambrosio, actually."  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

He didn't fear the other lion trying to get away from him. He could tell he had his interest and that was always a good place to start. His dreaded mane clung to his face and he shook his head to free them.

"Aye, boy. Eyes on the prize. Sure, if thats what you feel. However I think that your eyes would maybe be better.." He paused to find the word he was looking for, and when he did he almost shouted it.

"Suited!...Better suited for looking at your surroundings. Wrong person catches you stealing, you wont be able to steal again. Saavy?" He asked, looking at the blue speckled male and nodding his head to him.

"Im Pirato Alta. Pirate King, and Commodore of the Maestros Del Mar." He said proudly.  

[Pearlyblue]

Not even thinking about it, Ambrosio had leaned forward as the big red lion hesitated, looking for the right word, and when the word was found and shouted - almost right into his face - he couldn't help but jump a little in surprise. Instinctively, his claws curled around the bracelet under his foot, and he threw a glance down at it, only to quickly look up at the lion again.

"Er... Yes! Yes, I... I 'savvy'. Sir. Thank you, sir! I shall keep that in mind from now on!"

He paused for a moment, taking in the grand title the other had just presented himself with. It sounded really awesome. The blue-flecked leopard couldn't help but feel a bit excited at the sound of it, even though he didn't understand a lot of what it meant.

Furthermore, this Pirato fellow didn't seem intent on taking his trinket away from him. At least not right now. Feeling a little emboldened, and tremendously curious, Ambrosio leaned in towards the lion again, an excited smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Now, that sounds really impressive, sir. This is probably a stupid question, but... What's a pirate?"  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

Pirato didn't care about the golden trinket. He had enough trinkets adorning him so he felt no need to take the single bracelet the male had spent so much time stealing. Of course, if it had been a bigger piece of jewelry he might not have been so laid back about it. When the male leaned in and asked him the question, he grinned. Oh this would be interesting. He had no idea what a pirate was, and so when he learned.. Pirato was sure he would join willingly and happily. Standing a bit taller he chuckled.

"Pirates are bands of brothers and sometimes sisters. We leave by freedom and happiness. We do not stress about life, and we really just enjoy ourselves for the mostpart." He said grinning.

"Now does that sound like the kinda life that a lad such as yourself would be interested in?"  

[Pearlyblue]

Ambrosio's tail begun moving excitedly behind him, and the glow in his eyes became more and more obvious as the Pirate King spoke of the pirate's life. His interest was pretty obvious, but he grinned and replied:

"Sounds almost too good to be true... Is there a catch? There's always a catch." He pondered the lion's words for a moment. "What do you do when you are not just enjoying yourselves? And... Why would you want a guy like me to join you? You just saw me steal something from a lady."

As if to remind the lion of what the two of them had just finished talking about, the leopard lifted the bracelet off the ground a bit and let it dangle for a moment. In his experience, it was always far more likely to be chased off or beaten up when you were caught stealing, rather than invited to stay. Or was he perhaps misreading Pirato's intentions?  

[Buffy_the_Bloody]

Instinctively Pirato's eyes roved over the bracelet with appreciation when Ambroise held it up. He only caught himself looking for a few seconds though before he was looking at the leopard once more. He had seen the leopard, he knew what he had done. Chuckling he spoke.

"When we aren't enjoying ourselves we are out on the town. We pillage, and plunder.. Ravage and Loot... And we are really, bad eggs." He said, looking like he was focusing as he was trying to get the words to the song he had heard long ago, right. His band of pirates werent as bloodthirsty as others he had heard of, but they would do what they had to to get what they wanted.

"Aye lad, maybe I saw potential in you."

He stood, and stretched out his body before turning to head back the direction he came. He wasnt going to force the male to follow, so he shrugged.

"If ye feel ye can handle it, its best we be going."  

[Pearlyblue]

Ambrosio's tail sped up excitedly, the more he heard of what Pirato had to tell him. Could it be... that he had finally found a place where he could be appreciated for doing what he did best? A place where he could stay? Maybe even be protected if he happened to piss off someone strong?

His claws tightened around his treasure. Could it be that his luck was actually turning?

When Pirato stood and begun to move, Ambrosio shot to his feet with an enthusiastic "Yes, sir!" And bounced after the red lion.

He could at least check it out, this pirate life. No harm in giving it a shot.

Ambrosio followed the Pirate King across the beach. And he never looked back.