[PRP] One of these things is not like the others (KalaxMaru)

[Tanakako]

Kala glanced around, bright golden eyes wide. Where had her sister gone? Ku'e always was better at stalk-and-pounce than she was but still...it had been a while since she ahd last seen her blue and white sister. Letting out a quiet call Kala turned about in a close circle, trying to scan the whole area around her, but being so small, rocks and tall grasses obscured her vision.

"Ku'e?" She called again, soft voice struggling to raise itself above the whispering of the wind thrugh the stalks all around. Expression slowly becoming troubled as the little rain-drop cub recieved no responce, Kala decided to start looking for her wayward sister. Ku'e couldn't have gone that far, after all... And Kala didn't want to loose her for good. Ears folding back the young female swallowed a worried mew. Grandma Njalo was away hunting and had told the cubs to stay near by. But Kala had to find Ku'e.

With a nervous but determined expression the blue cub set off, pushing through the grass to search for her absent sibling.

 

[Excited Apathy]

Itshe saw the other lion first, of course. With his keen eyes and aerial viewpoint, he always did. When the vulture's lazy circling shifted into a tighter downward spiral, Maru flicked his ears forward, alert. After a seemingly interminable wait, he braced himself as Itshe landed on his broad back. "You saw something." It wasn't a question. If the bird had just been coming down to ride for a bit, he would have taken more time about it.

Itshe bobbed his head, before lifting one broad wing to preen beneath it. Once he was satisfied that his lion had waited long enough, his head reappeared. "A cub slipped from its minder, whoever that is. Looks stranger than you lot usually do." Clumsily hopping to the ground, he waved a wing. "That way."

The pale lion frowned, both puzzled and concerned, but waited for the vulture to re-settle before padding in the indicated direction. Rustling grass revealed the cub's location before long. "What are you doing out here?" he said, getting straight to the point. A cub could get hurt straying away from its elders, and easily.  

[Tanakako]

Kala caught the sound of rustling grass long before she saw anything. She may have taken somewhat after her oft air-headed grandma, but she was her father’s daughter and, having been born out in the roguelands amid all its many dangers, was at least typically more alert than her pride-born kin of the same age. So when the loud and deep voice came from near by she squashed the urge to squeak and run for safety, but only with effort. Her papa had said she was safe here. Which was why he had brought her and her sister to this strange land to live with their grandma. So, she reasoned, the voice was nothing to be scared of, even if her instincts said otherwise.

Turning round in the little patch of flattened grass she had made she peered up at the huge pale lion looking down at her. Golden eyes widening in surprise and no small amount of nervousness. He was as big as Papa! What if he stood on her? Swallowing she curled her tail low, not wanting it to get squished.

Oh! But hadn’t he spoken? Blinking she struggled to recall what he had asked. “Uh.. I was looking for Ku’e… my sister. Grandma Njalo said not to go too far but Ku’e is hiding and I can’t find her…. “ Not that Kala thought their Grandma would be upset at them, but Kala hated disappointing Njalo. And she knew her papa would have scolded them for wandering off too far.
 

[Excited Apathy]

"Grandma's smart, cub. Wandering off's a good way to end up as a buzzard's snack." Chortling as he awkwardly took to the air to avoid an admonishing swat, Itshe added, "What's left of you, anyways!" Not that he'd ever partaken of such a meal...where Maru could see it. Dead lion wasn't much different from dead anything else, to be honest, but upsetting his partner (too much) didn't work out well.

Ears flattened to his head, Maru cleared his throat in an awkward fashion. He'd been about to say something similar, but much more vague and hopefully cub-friendly. Instead, he was stuck fixing his bird's mess. "That won't happen as long as you're close enough for someone to see or hear you," he soothed. At least, he dearly hoped it was soothing. Maybe if he got her mind on something else... "Do you want me to help find her? Or maybe walk you back?" In his mortification, making a big deal of this cub's sickly blue color wasn't much of a priority.  

[Tanakako]

Wide orange eyes switched to the giant bird and the little blue cub gave a rather high-pitched squeak. She had never seen one so close before! And that beak looked really sharp. Worried about more than her tail now, in case the feathery one decided she looked tasty after all, the tiny cub scrambled to her paws and backed up a few steps, tail tucked low and expression contrite.

Nervously looking from the lion to the bird and back, Kala shrunk down, knowing she had somehow done something wrong but not really understanding what. “I…” She wanted to find her sister, but what if Ku’e was already home? Staying out would only annoy this big male further.. But if she left and her sister was still out here…

“I… I don’t know…” Her soft voice shook slightly, though she refused to cry in front of him.

Excited Apathy

 

[Excited Apathy]

Maru frowned in concern, for himself as much as for her. She wasn't about to cry, was she? He would be the one in trouble if Itshe made the cub cry. "Hey now, don't worry about him. He's all talk." Ignoring the indignant squawk these words prompted, he continued. "Where'd you see Ku'e last? I can help you look a little, then I need to show you back." And get back to what he was supposed to be doing. He shouldn't just let a cub wander around by herself, but keeping tabs on her was really a job for one of the lionesses or an Ahluke.

Gaining altitude and beginning to circle, Itshe fumed. He'd show that fluff-brain "all talk!" He'd use him as a perch when the big lump wasn't expecting it, that's what he'd do. Or...or...he'd find something long-dead and bathe in it. Keeping company with a vulture that reeked of ancient carrion would teach him!  

[Tanakako]

The male's frown made the little cub cringe, but his reasurng words prompted her to timidly edge forwards, seeking shelter under him from the irrate vulture with the large beak above. Trembling Kala pressed against one of his forelimbs, tail tucked up tight and ears pressed back.

"I... I think it was back that way...." She pointed shyly in the direction where their game had started, but she had no idea where her sister could have hid herself. Or indeed if she was still near by. Ku'e sometimes got bored and simply left, not always telling Kala where she was going, or even that she had gone.

Excited Apathy