|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 12:06 pm
 This wasn't the first time Kerer had made his way down the path to the river. He had been making the trip daily for as long as he could remember. It was how he managed to make it through the rest of his day, with a quick dip in the mud to keep him cool. It didn't make any difference to him that he came out of such adventures looking like some sort of nightmare creature. He was comfortable!
Today his usual route took a detour as he went by the home of a friend of his, a younger lioness named Arusi who liked mud almost as much as he did, though for different reasons. She didn't mind if he threw mud at her, and she would even throw it back and they'd have really epic battles. Someday they'd have really epic adventures there, too. He was just waiting for a crocodile to put in an appearance, as surely one would eventually.
"Arusi!" he half-shouted, half-whispered. "Are you ready?"
He didn't know if she was allowed to go to the river with him, or if her family even knew of his existence, and so Kerer preferred to play it safe and sneak. Besides, it made his life more interesting if he added in some subterfuge here and there.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 5:32 pm
Arusi was practically bouncing from excitement, she'd been cooped up for much too long. Not really, but she'd been awake fore a while now and it seemed as though the rest of the family was content to keep sleeping, which was driving her mad. She bounded from one side of her den to the other, careful not to crash into any of her sleeping siblings. Arusi! She stumbled and almost crashed into Chan as she came to an abrupt stop, ears flicking up on her head. Oh, oh! It was Kerer, for sure!
She grinned as she bounded to the entrance without a second glance for her parents, nipping at the older boy as she darted past him, then spun around to whap at his tail with her paw. "Hiya Ker! Took ya long enough, yeah? Been goin' crazy! Think we'll getta see a croc t'day?" Her words slightly bumped into one another as she spoke speedily, clearly over-joyed at their planned adventure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 6:08 pm
Arusi's enthusiastic appearance made Kerer grin. As always, the contrast between his white teeth and his dark face was stark, but not nearly as much as it would be later, when he was covered from chin to tail with mud. At that point he would look like some sort of nightmare creature, and the possibility dismayed him not at all. In fact he had come to enjoy being something of a fright, even though it upset his parents something dreadful.
"I don't know where you find the energy to be so bouncy," Kerer remarked, swatting at her tail tuft as she darted past him.
He hadn't disregarded her greeting, exactly, but at the same time he didn't see much point in exchanging pleasantries that Arusi was certain to ignore anyway. Her attention and interest were very clearly elsewhere, and that suited Kerer just fine. He didn't mind forgoing unnecessary portions of socialisation if no one was going to get on his case about it.
Without any input from his brain Kerer's tail flicked away from Arusi's paws. As with most cats, Kerer's tail took care of itself and neither needed nor welcomed interference from the feline attached to it as it went about its business. Sometimes his appendage's independence could be irksome, but mostly Kerer was completely oblivious to it.
"It'd be exciting if we did," he said, his grin widening until the soft shiny flesh of his gums showed around the base of his teeth. "Pity we won't be able to tell anyone if we do."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 8:28 am
Arusi chuckled at her friend's words, rolling her eyes as she spun in place. "Duh, it's cuz we're alway stuck inside!" Her tone came out slightly whiney, really unable to help the fact that she found being stuck inside to be the worst. "Besides, I don't know why you aren't more excited cause yer hangin' out with me!" She gave a mischievous grin to the other, truly believing that was a good reason to be excited.
Arusi's face twisted into something of annoyance and clearly showed she thought not being able to tell anyone was unfair. But as she thought it over her frown only deepened, coming to the conclusion that he was very right. Even if she were to tell her sisters or brothers it was very likely they would tell her parents. "Bah. Well still... it would be a cool secret between us!" Her smile returned as she thought over the alternative secret nature of seeing a crocodile. "That is probably cooler anyways, right?" And then when she was a big, strong adult she could go around telling everybody anything she wanted!
Her tail flicked back and forth at random as they headed toward the river, Arusi's thoughts flitting through all of the things they could do. Probably a mud fight would result, though. "I don't get why no one else goes to the river." She stated after a moment, making a face. It was stupid really, who cared if cubs their age shouldn't be doing 'dangerous' things. It wasn't really that dangerous anyways! And where were the other thrill seekers of their pride?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:24 am
Arusi's trip into egoism earned her a skeptical look. Excited to be hanging out with her indeed! Kerer could amuse himself just as easily with or without her. He just happened to think it was interesting and entertaining to have her around from time to time. As a witness to his own adventures, or a sidekick maybe.
"It would be a very cool secret," he agreed. "But first we have to get there."
Another cub might have proposed a race at this juncture, but Kerer's gait rarely went any faster than a trot or a lope, neither of which was a race-winning sort of stride. Usually he was a lion who ambled or strolled, at least when the sun was up. He was more active at night, when it was cooler. The sun's heat really bothered him a great deal.
"Probably no one else goes because they're afraid they'll run into..." He trailed off as they drew within sight of the river and his yellow eyes fell on something in the slow-moving water that resembled, well, a crocodile.
"Look!" he urged her in a whisper.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 3:03 pm
She nodded slowly as he mentioned getting to the actual destination, and hummed a little as they went along. Her humming was off-key and not really... anything nice sounding. Unfortunately she'd never be able to carry a tune.
Arusi would sometimes move ahead in small dashes, hops or pounces as she spotted beetles or just grew bored of Kerer's pace, but would always back pace so she could follow, also so she wouldn't get too far ahead. She was relatively quiet while they traveled, every so often she'd point out a 'cool bug', 'cool bird', or a 'cool rock' to the other young lion.
"Run inta what!" She growled out, hardly giving him time to actually justify such a demanding tone. But as he urged her to look toward the river she squinted, dark gaze flickering over what she thought to be nothing interesting. That was, until she spotted the same thing Kerer did! She gasped, freezing in her tracks.
She didn't realize she was trembling slightly, even from so far away. "Is tha'... is tha'..." She swallowed. She was not afraid! She was excited. Right, that was it. "Is tha' a crocodile?" She finally whispered back, in awe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 8:16 am
Kerer's ears had twitched at the noise Arusi made as she walked but he didn't comment. One of the nannies who had played a part in his upbringing, a dark-coated lioness named Tay who was irrepressibly cheerful, was a horrible singer, too, and yet never let that stop her from bursting into song when the mood struck her. He had grown used to the sounds of tuneless tunes.
In response to the "cool" things she pointed out to him, Kerer had mostly just nodded, but for some he would move closer to investigate. Mostly with stationary objects. The birds would only have taken flight if he tried to get a closer look, and then an obligatory chase would ensue and distract the two lions from their original purpose that morning.
He took no offense at her growl. She just hadn't seen what he'd seen yet, which would be something of a first for the pair. Usually she was the one pointing everything out to him, waiting for him to catch up to her, but in this he had been the more observant of the pair. And now he was content to wait for her to see the shape in the water.
His lips curled up in a delighted grin when she got it. "I sincerely hope so. Let's go see."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 6:32 am
Arusi was feeling a little nervous, not that she'd ever tell the other boy that. In fact, she told herself she was being a big baby. What was there to be scared of? As Kerer suggested going closer she swallowed then nodded. She wasn't scared, this was really quite awesome! She could brag about this to her brothers and sisters. They'd be really jealous!
Instead of running ahead this time she seemed to stick closer to Kerer, only moving ahead of him for a few paces before glancing back and waiting. She dared him to make a comment about it though, because if he did she'd make him eat sand! "How close do ya wanna get?" She said, sounding still every bit excited. But... what if he wanted to touch it? She eyed Kerer suspiciously. Was he that brave? He was a lot of fun... but did he often do stuff like this when she wasn't around?
She paused as they walked, realizing that it wasn't often she looked Kerer over when he wasn't caked in mud. It wasn't like she went around looking at everyones coats and judged them or envied them or whatever it was lions like her sister did. That was gross! But his fur was very dark green, so dark it was almost hard to spot the slightly lighter spots running along his back and near his shoulders. "Ya know, you kinda look like a crocodile." She said slowly, head tilting as she seemed to be intently studying him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:39 am
Kerer was more or less unfazed by the crocodile in the water. He had never seen a crocodile this close and despite the warnings grown-ups had issued about how fast they could move, this one looked entirely too much like a log to cause him any serious worry. Besides, it was in the water and they were on land. Everything was perfectly fine.
"Oh, I dunno," he replied. "The whole in-the-water thing means we can't bop it on the nose, but don't you wish we could?"
There were probably some evolutionary disadvantages to taking such a relaxed attitude toward danger. Like the distinct possibility he could get eaten. Or get Arusi eaten. That thought gave him pause. It would get him in a lot of trouble if he got Arusi eaten. So clearly the best course of action would be to convince the crocodile to eat him, too, if it took a bite out of Arusi.
"Hmm? Oh. I guess. You kind of look like the night sky. But I guess you hear that a lot."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:49 am
So he did want to touch it! Right on it's nose! She thought about it for a moment, picturing Kerer bopping it on the nose in her head. She grinned, chuckling. Well... maybe there was no reason to be afraid, Kerer didn't seem to be afraid at all, after all. Besides, if they did ever end up touching a crocodile it would be really cool, because not many other youngsters could brag about that sort of thing. She bet her sisters would be terrified by the very thought! Heck, her brothers would be too. Sissies. "That would be cool." She said finally, stopping a moment to get an itch behind her ear. "You know... we could always lure it towards the bank..." She said slowly, a dangerously mischievous look on her face. Right... if she wasn't going to be afraid of this thing than she wasn't going to be afraid of it properly!
They were almost to the bank now, and the crocodile looked a lot bigger than Arusi had imagined. And it was mostly under water... she wondered what one of them looked like on land, she'd always imagined them... less big. "Uhm." She glanced down to her own pelt, then wrinkled her nose. Growing up with her brothers and sisters, she'd found her coat to be on the 'plainer' side. Though she suspected not many would call her pelt plain. "Yeah, that's from my dad! My spots are from my mom." She wondered if she looked more like her father or more like her father? Actually that was an easy one! "I look more like my dad, though. What about you, who do you take after?" She looked to him again, trying to think if she'd seen any adult versions of him around the pride. "You should check out my brother, his pelt is all white!" She laughed. "He looks so weird! And his eyes! Oh gods, he has two different colors! Two!" She seemed to think he looked a little ridiculous, but since he was her brother she was allowed to think that. "It's a little creepy. I haven't seen any other cubs with those sorta eyes yet." She wrinkled her nose. Maybe something was just wrong with Chandran.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 8:30 am
"Big, isn't it?" Kerer observed.
Privately, he was not sure he was really comfortable with how very big it was. A smaller specimen would have been preferable for this particular adventure. Still, the fact that it was so big probably meant it couldn't move very fast. It didn't even look like it had legs!
"Probably doesn't move very fast. I can't even see its legs. Probably they're short and stumpy, and can't support all that crocodile. If we got it onto land, it'd probably get stuck, like a really fat snake."
Kerer didn't know much about snakes, and had no idea how they managed to move without legs, but he suspected however they did it wouldn't work for a crocodile. And if it did, they could probably get away faster than the crocodile could...slither? But he didn't like running or scampering. He preferred to move at a more sedate, energy-conserving pace.
"You'd have to be bait though. So if you got it onto the bank, I could maybe pin it down?" He was dubious about that, but he could at least jump on it. That would be an adventure all right. His mother would probably murder him. But only if she found out.
"I don't know. Both of my parents, I guess. More my mum's color, but a bit more my dad's markings." He was distracted by the complicated process of getting closer to the water's edge and keeping both eyes trained on the crocodile. He didn't quite trust it not to do something sneaky. "Can your brother see all right with eyes like that?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2012 9:52 am
She started to giggle at the thought of the big croc getting stuck, wiggling about but not going anywhere. As she continued the thought the giggle morphed into a full on, stomach-cramping laugh. It would be something totally worth seeing! "Yeah! Man... I mean... snakes don't really move too much after they eat right?" And they looked really fat and weird when they ate, so she imagined. As for the crocodile... she hoped Kerer was right.
She had to be the bait? Her laughter stopped as she glanced between he and the croc, head tilting as she eyed the creature skeptically. "W..what if it chomps me?" She mumbled, tail flicking. "I mean... course I could be bait. I'm not afraid of that thing! But if it does get me how're you supposed ta tell my mum bout it?" She gave Kerer a sly look. "She's got some temper, you know." Then she grinned.
She moved closer toward the reptile with him, her glances flickering constantly between her companion and the crocodile. So he was a good mix of his parents... Her nose scrunched at his question. "Yeah, think so." Man... what if Chan couldn't see right? Weird! "He doesn't complain bout not seein' stuff or anything like that. Though I dunno, maybe he's lying." Something she'd have to investigate!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2012 10:12 am
"I don't know!" Kerer admitted. "But probably not. I mean, they don't even have any legs to drag themselves along, and I don't think they can chew properly. So they'd have, like, whole things just sitting there and keeping them from moving. Like a hippo sitting in their middle."
He didn't really know where he was going with this, so he shut up. He wasn't sure it was the best idea for them to be laughing too loudly. He didn't know how well crocodiles heard. And maybe the one nearby would be insulted by their speculations. Or feel compelled to prove them wrong. That wouldn't be good.
"I won't let it chomp you," Kerer said with a huffing sigh. Honestly. Like she'd said, he'd have to explain things to the parents if he let her get eaten, and he didn't want to have to do that.
When she started moving forward Kerer did the same. After all, he couldn't very well keep her safe from it if he was too far away, could he? This was going to be such a great adventure. But it'd be a lot of effort, too. He hoped it would be worth it.
"Remember, you've got to get it out of the water."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2012 12:23 pm
She tried to contain her laughter at the images floating through her head, but it was hard. It was just too priceless! She wanted to see it in real life, it would be so cool! "Oh man... could it swallow a hippo?" The really big snakes probably could... she was pretty sure she'd been warned more than a few times by her mother to stay away from big snakes, cause they could swallow her whole no problem! She shuddered at the thought.
She mad a face at him when he said he wouldn't let it chomp her. She wouldn't let it chomp her herself! She didn't need protecting! Still, it did feel a little good to hear her friend had her back. "Bleh, I'm pro'ly too quick for 'im anyways." Her gaze turned back to the water. "Isn't tha' right mr. cro--aah?" She came to a stop, eyes going wide.
"Where'd 'e go Ker?" She said, her voice suddenly dropping to a whisper as her eyes frantically searched the water, and then slowly over the bank.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:19 am
Kerer shook his head at Arusi's silliness. Of course a crocodile couldn't swallow a hippo. Probably it couldn't even swallow a whole lion. It would have to bite them apart or chew them up first. Not a lion Arusi's size. She was small enough to just be a single swallow. But he knew he was big enough that he might need to be bitten or chewed.
Thinking these thoughts he breathed, "Gruesome!"
He'd been busy trying to size up how many bites it would take the crocodile to eat Arusi, and had not actually been watching the crocodile. It was a mistake, he knew almost as soon as Arusi trailed off with widened eyes. That was not a good sound, but at least it wasn't a scream. Screams would have been much worse.
He tried to sound very calm and confident when he answered, "I don't know. Probably he didn't fancy the idea of being prey to two young lions and went off to hide."
He didn't believe that for a minute, but at the same time he didn't care for the other explanations his brain was supplying. Those were more along the lines of how very, very bad it was to lose track of a dangerous predator like a crocodile.
"Come back where I'm standing," he said, still making an effort to sound calm while simultaneously getting Arusi away from the water. "Maybe you'll be able to see him better from here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
